Raining Darkness
by Crimson ultrafox
Summary: Naruto defeats Sasuke in the Valley of the End, but upon returning ends up leaving himself. Dark desires flood his heart as he awakens the Rinnegan, and takes on the alias, Pein. Dark Naruto, Naru/harem, Not quite what you'd expect.
1. Chapter 1

Ok this is just a fanfic I threw together for some fun because I had the idea floating around in my head. I'm sure most of you have seen this story pattern before, but oh well. Also if some things aren't accurate then I apologize in advance, I've only recently gotten back into Naruto. Also, Naruto is Pein in this fic just so you guys don't get confused. Naruto is dark in this fic but not necessarily evil, so expect to see conflicting emotions…ftw

Summary: Naruto manages to defeat Sasuke in the Valley of the End, but upon his return a revelation occurs. Dark desires flood his heart as he awakens the legendary Rinnegan, watch as he becomes Pein. Dark Naruto multiple mystery pairings

**Chapter 1: Leaving it all Behind**

Hatred…Pain…Loneliness…words he had known all too well through his life. These three words summed up all of the feelings that swallowed his pure heart. Naruto, the dobe, the pariah, the demon; that's all he was to the people of Konoha.

Sure he had special people he cared about, but deep down he wondered if they truly did care. Kakashi was his Jounin instructor, yet he seemed uninterested in teaching Naruto anything useful. Sakura was a bad case of one-sided infatuation that ended in nothing but a deeper pit of loneliness that engulfed him.

Iruka his academy instructor and close friend was one of the few people who did care for him, however he sometimes noticed the doubt that chipped away at his dear friend. Jiraiya, whether he would show it or not, had always been there for the boy since he met him, yet Jiraiya was often far too busy to do anything for him.

Tsunade, the Hokage herself, was one of his most important people. She was his surrogate mother, and he knew she would always be there for him. As for the rest of rookie nine, Naruto had serious doubts of their true feelings towards him.

Finally, there was Sasuke. The boy was his good friend, but Naruto had always resented the boy deep down for his swift mastery over everything and him being a beacon of perfection for everybody. What made Sasuke so much better than him? Nothing it would seem, seeing as how Naruto's Rasengan had defeated him.

Naruto was fed up with the way he was treated in Konoha. Even upon defeating Sasuke, nobody thanked him or even acknowledged him for his feat. He began to become distant upon his return to Konoha. He sat in team seven's training ground and began to boil in anger.

Those few people that did care about Naruto were overshadowed by the fourteen years of neglect and punishment inflicted on him by the citizens of Konoha. His hindrances from the academy instructors, his lack of training, and his lack of respect from his teammates sent him over the edge.

Darkness flooded his vision and he felt a burning sensation over his entire body. His eyes felt like acid was being poured into them. "ARRRRRGHHHH!" he roared painfully as he fell to his knees. Suddenly a vision came to him. A man with golden, orange hair was standing over Konoha.

He looked closely at this man which could have resembled his older self wearing a black robe with red clouds on it. The man had many piercings that covered his emotionless face. Suddenly, the man raised his hand and a huge explosion covered the entire city. A small smile marked the man's face as witnessed the devastation.

The man began to chuckle at his handiwork, and soon became full out laugh. As his laughter echoed throughout Naruto's mind he soon heard the Kyuubi's demonic fox laughter join in. Naruto was then engulfed in the explosion.

Naruto woke in an all too familiar flooded hallway and knew where he was. He followed the usual path to Kyuubi's prison wondering if the fox was behind his strange meltdown. "Hey fox, why don't you explain to me what's going on?" the boy demanded.

Kyuubi came to the front of the cage to make eye contact with the boy and gave him an evil glare. **"Your lack of respect is starting to irritate me mortal! I am the great Kyuubi and you will address me as such." **the giant fox snarled pacing back and forth in his cage.

Naruto merely shrugged off the fox's threat like it was nothing. "There must be some reason you brought me here then, because I don't willingly come here last I checked." The Kyuubi just slammed his head against the cage, "**I simply wanted to talk to you about that pity party you were having before you passed out. Instead of wasting all of your energy trying to please people who obviously have no concern for you, I suggest you turn the tables."**

Naruto stared at the Kyuubi confused, "What do you mean turn the tables?" The demon fox grinned at him in a strange way, "**Instead of letting them walk all over you and waste your time for nothing, I suggest you harness your rage and let it fuel your ambitions." **Kyuubi elaborated further knowing the blond genin wouldn't understand what he meant, "**You could rule this world kit with all of the powers you have, but instead you let others beat you down and cling to some fairy tale notion that you'll be Hokage one day. THEY'LL NEVER ACCEPT YOU FOR HOKAGE OVER THEIR PRECIOUS UCHIHA, or when that corrupt council is there."**

"**It's time to face the facts kit, become strong or live in your pathetic puddle of self-pity and misery!" **The Kyuubi's rant was something Naruto wasn't expecting. Deep down in the pit of his soul he knew the Kyuubi was right about everything…No matter how hard he worked to live by their doctrines and to please them, Konoha had no love for the blond ninja.

"What would you have me do…Kyuubi-sama?" The boy asked desperately. The fox was somewhat surprised by the complete change in attitude the boy seemed to take. Kyuubi laughed inwardly at the thought of Naruto killing people.

"**Okay kit, I have great plans for you. First thing is you should leave this worthless village. As long as you remain here they will only hinder your potential with their pathetic misguided sense of morality."**

"You mean leave and become bad? I'm not like that fox I can't do that to other people, I…" the Kyuubi interrupted him with a fierce roar, "**This is the real world! Everything worth having is something you have to fight for, to bleed for, TO KILL FOR!"**

Naruto cringed over the red chakra flooding the room now. "I can't leave, what would Tsunade say or Jiraiya?" Kyuubi sighed, "**They won't be here forever, and when they're gone then what will be here for you?" **

Naruto stood frozen for a minute torn by conflicting feelings of anguish and the loyalty he held to his home. Finally he spoke up, "I won't leave them behind and betray Konoha.**" **The Kyuubi had a painfully annoyed look on his face, "**Your ignorance to your untapped potential in disgusting; with those eyes of yours and my power combined you could become a living god!"**

"What do you mean by my eyes?" Naruto questioned bitterly. The fox just laughed at him, "**Go live in your pathetic dream of love and acceptance a bit longer, eventually you will wake up." **

Naruto could only hear the Kyuubi's maniacal laughter as his vision went dark once again.

He awoke in team seven's training grounds where he had previously passed out. His entire body burned like he had slept in a fire. His vision was nothing but a blinding white light as he felt the acidic burning in his eyes once again.

He blinked several times and felt the cool touch of rain pouring over his entire body. Slowly his vision was returning to normal. The rain soothed him and he just let it soak him to relax. Slowly the blonde got up and began to go over his conversation with Kyuubi in his head.

'I wonder what he meant by my eyes?' the boy thought to himself as he slowly got up and walked past the bridge looking into his reflection in the water. From what he could make out from the rain splashing and rippling the water, his eyes were still his normal shade of blue. Then suddenly they began to turn purple. He gasped and fell back shocked by what he had just seen.

He looked back into the water and they were blue again. 'Do I have some kind of Doujutsu nobody else has?' the blond thought to himself as he began to walk home to his apartment. Along the way he passed the Konoha library which was closed for the night. 'Maybe it's worth looking into purple eyed Doujutsus…best I keep this to myself, no telling what the council would do if they found out I had a bloodline.

Naruto snuck into the library with no trouble at all and turned on a light. He began to go through the shelves looking for anything relating to bloodlines or doujutsus. 'What's this shit…Sharingan, Uchiha, blah blah blah. Fuck the Sharingan.' The blond thought to himself. Then he stopped reading for a moment somewhat shocked by his thought process. 'Why am I being so hostile?' the boy thought to himself.

After about an hour of uneventful skimming through bloodline books he sighed heavily. 'Maybe I'm just going crazy the boy thought to himself. He put all the books back where he found them and accidently knocked one off the shelf. He picked up the book reading the title, "Rikudo Sennin," he said aloud to himself opening the book curious about it.

He found himself captivated by the contents of the book. It explained about the sage of six paths who created ninjutsu and was known as the founder of the ninja world. That wasn't what caught his attention, it was also mentioned that the man was said to have possessed purple eyes with rings in them known as the Rinnegan. It was said to be the most powerful Doujutsu ever known that could allow the user to master all 6 forms of chakra and so much more.

Naruto didn't know what to think of what he had just read. It would be hard for him to believe somebody like him could be a descendant of the most powerful ninja in history. 'There's no way…it can't be true, I'm an orphan with no clan, how would this be possible?' the blond thought to himself.

A voice rang in his head and It only took him half a second to know who it was, "**The pieces are beginning to fall in place. Soon you will begin to understand." **Naruto pushed the voice out of his head and decided to continue home. It was late by this time, but his apartment was only a block away.

He leaped over the rooftops to get there quickly and landed in front of his door. 'What a crazy day…the poor Genin thought to himself as he collapsed soaked on his couch. He looked at his picture of team seven and stared at it.

A tremor of rage washed over him and he suddenly threw it at the wall shattering the frame to pieces. A single tear rolled down his face as he felt a sinking feeling in his heart. 'Everything I've done…for what?' the boy thought to himself as he was flooded with flashbacks of his childhood running from mobs of angry villagers, and the painful beatings he would receive.

Sarutobi the old man Hokage was the only thing that made the assaults stop, but Naruto never forgot the horrors he'd experienced hiding on his birthday just to avoid the inevitable near death experience he received once a year. Naruto finally fell asleep after long hours of anger and pain surfacing in him.

He had the same dream again of the cloaked man destroying Konoha, but this time Naruto looked closely at the man…he had purple eyes with rings…the Rinnegan. Naruto woke to the warm sunlight bathing his still soaked body. He took the time to get up and take a shower, trying to forget the terrible visions floating around in the back of his mind.

He prepared his favorite meal as he decided on what he was going to do today. 'Maybe I should go see how Sasuke's doing in the hospital,' He thought cheerfully trying not to remember his dark feelings from the day before.

As he made his way to the hospital he was intercepted by none other Kakashi who had a grim look on his face. He greeted Naruto with a serious tone, "Hey Naruto, good to see you're okay…I just got back from seeing Sasuke, he's in intensive care. You must have really messed him up in that fight."

Naruto looked at him dumbfounded, "Intensive care? Seriously?" the masked Jounin looked away from Naruto as he spoke quietly, "You had good intentions trying to bring him back. It was his own fault for forcing you to hurt him like that, but there is no telling how the council will take it. Apparently there was only one eye-witness…you are not going to like who it is either."

Naruto had a serious look on his face and spoke, "Eye-witness? Am I in some kind of trouble with the council?" Kakashi looked dead serious and replied softly, "If Sasuke dies you're going to be stripped of your ninja rank, and right now this eye-witness is saying you forced violence on Sasuke after he surrendered, and tried to execute him with a Rasengan."

Naruto was shocked beyond belief…shit just got real. Seems it was raining bad luck this week he thought to himself as he asked, "Who is this eye-witness Kakashi?" Said Jounin looked down at the ground and spoke the name Naruto was dreading to hear, "Sakura…"

'NO! why her of all people,' the blond thought to himself "**That pink haired Barbie bitch is going to get butchered and eviscerated!**" The Kyuubi's voice echoed in Naruto's head. Naruto looked pleadingly at his sensei, "Please tell me you don't believe her Kakashi-sensei…you think I would purposely kill Sasuke?"

Kakashi looked sad for the first time Naruto could ever remember and he merely shrugged, "I know you aren't the kind of person to do that Naruto, but Sakura's side of the story will carry far more support that yours…especially because of your predicament." The Jounin took a moment before continuing, "Please don't blame her, she doesn't understand what this implies to the council."

"**She would eat a Rasengan if I had my way HAHA…seriously though kit, walk away now before this shitstorm blows in your face." **The fox laughed. Naruto looked at Kakashi one last time before leaving, "Well take care Kakashi-Sensei I'm going to see if I can sort this out."

The masked Ninja looked at him with waning hope, "Good luck Naruto, though I doubt this is going to end well." Kakashi wandered away silently wishing he could do more for his Sensei's son. 'If that kid gets out of this skirmish I'm going to have to train him more.' Kakashi thought to himself, 'Impressive that he beat Sasuke, though I doubt he knows what Sakura saw could only have scared her.'

Meanwhile, Naruto had just arrived at the hospital to find Sasuke in stable condition after Tsunade saved his life. Naruto walked in the room and was greeted with mixed stares from its inhabitants. Tsunade and Shizune had offered warm greetings to him while Danzo, Sakura, and several unnamed council members glared at him as if he just killed their family.

Danzo spoke up in his usual cocky self-assured attitude, "What brings the criminal back to the crime scene hmm?" Without even masking his pure malice at this man Naruto simply replied, "I suggest you leave old man before you end up like him!"

Tsunade looked at Naruto shocked that the happy-go-lucky blond would threaten a councilor and the head of ROOT. "Your violent outbursts will only further diminish you in the eyes of your peers who will all soon see you for what you really are," the old man smiled.

"**He's at the top of my hit list right now…don't let that cocky bitch of a man tell you off like that kit!" **Naruto looked at Danzo knowing what he meant and spoke darkly, "For somebody who's supposedly very smart, you chose the worst people to have as an enemy."

Tsunade finally spoke up interrupting their argument, "Enough Danzo you are dismissed, Naruto and I need to talk. All of you out now! you too Sakura." The pink haired kunoichi was about to argue but Tsunade gave her a death glare so she walked out, but not before giving Naruto the most disgusting look of hatred he had ever seen.

When they were alone Tsunade looked over at Sasuke's body and then back at Naruto, "Do you know what you did to him Naruto?" she questioned with a worried look on her face. Naruto merely nodded and relayed, "I defeated him with a Rasengan at the Valley of the end, and hauled his ass all the way back to Konoha."

"Your Rasengan almost pierced his heart, and is being viewed as an attempted execution of Sasuke by the council. Sakura claims you were glowing red and had an evil look on your face. You making enemies of Danzo won't help your situation either." Tsunade explained.

Naruto had only one thing to say, "I'm fucked huh?" Tsunade gasped at his language not expecting this kind of response. "This is only going to end one way if I wait," he said out loud to himself. Tsunade was staring at him utterly confused now.

"I don't believe Sakura's bullshit Naruto, but you can't deny that your attitude lately will lead many to believe it is true." Tsunade spoke sadly. "Are you ok Naruto? Is there anything you want to talk about? I'm here for you."

Naruto was about to tell her about his dreams and the Rinnegan when Kyuubi shouted in his head, "**DON'T TELL HER ABOUT THAT…she wouldn't understand. **For some reason, Naruto believed the fox had a decent point in this matter. Telling the Hokage that you were pissed off lately around the time of being charged with attempt to murder a teammate would be bad news.

"No, I'm fine I'll see you tomorrow Hokage-sama," the blond spoke to the older woman who was trying to figure out the puzzle of Naruto's emotions. She knew he was hiding something, but there would be no point in trying to force it out of him.

Tsunade then walked away chugging down a bottle of Sake she somehow acquired. Naruto walked over to Sasuke at his bedside and looked at the sleeping Uchiha hoping he would be okay. He placed his Hitae-ite (I think that's how you say it) by Sasuke's bedside and he walks to the door only to be intercepted by our favorite pink haired ninja.

"Come here to finish the job dobe, I hope the council takes away everything from you for almost taking away Sasuke-kun from me!" Naruto just gave her a plain smirk and said quietly, "I'm sick of you trying to justify reasons to hate me Sakura…you're just like the rest of them. His eyes started burning again as he glared at her.

She took a step back fearfully regretting what she said, "Naruto, what are you doing?" she was beginning to whimper as his eyes were flashing different shades between purple red and blue. "**She's number 2 on that hit list…I can think of a thousand ways to end her worthless life." **Kyuubi echoed once again.

Naruto then just pushed her out of the way and walked down the hallway. She fell to the ground with tears in her eyes as he walked down the hallway and punched a random civilian in the face knocking him out cold.

'I think I've overstayed my welcome,' the blond thought as he began to understand why Kyuubi was in a hurry for him to leave. Sooner or later some Anbu might take him into custody. He made his way to the northern gate as he began to walk out he was surprised to see the gate guards weren't at their posts.

Assuming this was his one chance he began to run for it out of the village. He made it a good way out and thought he was clear. About an hour or so of running later he took a quick break to recollect his energy he would need to make the long journey to wave country to stay with some old friends.

After a few minutes he began to set off again but was blocked by somebody he was shocked to see, "It's you…that Chunin exam intstructor, Anko." The woman just stared at him with her normal playful attitude and smiled, "Aw he remembers me…been thinking of me lately hmm cutie?"

"Listen lady, I don't have time to be your bitch in these stupid mind games you like. So how's about you play hide and go fuck yourself while I leave." Anko giggled at him with a menacing smirk, "That game is so boring unless there's two people involved, but anyways kid where are you going all by yourself out of the village?"

"Nothing that concerns you, I suggest you pretend you never saw me and maybe someday I could make it up to you." A wicked grin graced her features as she imagined older Naruto. "Aren't you the Kyuubi kid? Won't all the elders freak out if you leave?" She asked in a somewhat serious manner.

"Breaking the rules is fun wouldn't you say Anko-chan? Do me a favor and cover me and you can have whatever you want should we ever meet each other again." Anko then spoke empathetically, "I know why you're leaving kid, maybe one day I'll join you, but I am holding you to this deal of ours."

"Guess I'll see you around then Anko," Naruto winked as he darted away. Anko licked her lips as she headed back to Konoha.

Well I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, I did get some of my ideas from other fics, so don't freak out if you see something familiar. Anyways I'll likely update soon seeing as how it's the holidays. Review if you have and comments you wish to make.


	2. Chapter 2

Well I appreciate the reviews I received, and I'm glad you all left a comment. Just to clear some things up, there is a reason why the Anbu didn't see him leave the city and some of you may like the reason why. Anko was technically on her way to Konoha when she caught Naruto's trail she followed it. Ok anyways on with the story. Kind of a filler chapter, but this stuff is important to know.

**Chapter 2: New Identity**

The light of dawn shined once again over the new day in Konoha. A heavily hungover Hokage was freshly awake in her desk she had fallen asleep on the night before. Tsunade was stressed out of her mind at the moment; first the Uchiha kid takes off, second Naruto nearly kills him and she has to spend all day saving his life, and finally Naruto was getting put on trial today for the "attempted execution" of Sasuke which was just plain ridiculous.

Sakura really didn't do her any favors by stirring up the council by telling them about Naruto's fight with Sasuke. She stared at her desk lost in thought, 'Red chakra…why did Sakura have to tell them that.' It would only translate as one thing to them, and that would be the Kyuubi is taking over the boy. It saddened her to think that people could be so heartless all because they were too afraid to see Naruto as a person. She glanced at the pile of paperwork on her desk she had failed to do the day before, and felt her head throb even worse 'There is no way that's getting done today. I should go see Naruto and try to talk to him again about this council thing…he seemed so distant. I wonder what was wrong with him?' the woman thought to herself ashamed that she was too tired to get him to open up.

A knock was heard at the door and Tsunade hoped it was Naruto. "Come in." Sadly though, her hopes were diminished by the sight of Danzo at the door with a dead serious look on his face. "Lady Tsunade, where is the boy?" he demanded. She then felt a bit concerned by the way he was acting. "I last saw Naruto in the hospital late afternoon yesterday right after you left…Why what's happened?" Danzo was pissed judging by the way he was pacing in front of her desk glaring at her. "The two Anbu I assigned to watch him are both dead…as well as four north gate guards. Tsunade's eyes almost exploded out of their sockets, "WHAT!"

Danzo visibly tensed under the Hokage's angry outburst. "They were all found slain in the team seven training grounds…all of them were killed by Kunai to the heart with incisions on their cheeks. Here's the strange thing though, it looks as if they all killed themselves." Tsunade shivered at the thought of what that could mean. "I have to see this for myself," Tsunade pushed past Danzo and hurried down to the tower and out to the forest where the crime scene was. As she arrived, she saw a dozen Anbu covering the perimeter and several Jounin, as well as Jiraiya, all standing around the bodies.

When she arrived, she noticed several medic nin examining the bodies. Jiraiya turned to her and spoke up, "Whoever did this to these men is a genjutsu master…but it would have had to be something terrible to make them all kill themselves." Tsunade looked at the grizzly scene in disgust as she turned to her formed teammate, "You have some kind of lead I'm assuming." Jiraiya had a distressed look on his face and spoke up, "Yeah only one thing could do this to chunin and Anbu…a Mangekyo Sharingan." Everybody at the scene instantly turned their gaze to Jiraiya as everything went silent.

Tsuande knew exactly what that meant, "So Itachi is behind this?" awkward silence filled the air once again at the mention of one of Konoha's number one missing nins. One of the random Jounin spoke up to everybody's surprise, "Why would he kill random gate guards and Anbu?" Danzo who had recently just arrived to overhear Jiraiya's theory replied, "It's the fact that those Anbu were guarding the Kyuubi kid and now he's missing." Everybody was shocked except Tsunade who already heard that news. Jiraiya muttered quietly, "No, that can't be it…that would mean Itachi has kidnapped him." Danzo, being the asshole that he is shot out his theory, "That or the kid is a lot smarter than you all think. I woudn't doubt if he was working for Itachi to kill Sasuke. My ROOT agents have been investigating his movements since he brought Sasuke back, but what you all don't know is he had been sighted in these very same grounds the day before, and was seen breaking into the library that night. My agents went missing the night he went home. Not too long after I left, I heard a testimony from a civilian that he went on a rampage on his way out of the hospital the previous night, and gave the man a concussion."

Jiraiya looked unconvinced by Danzo's accusation, "Naruto wouldn't do things like that…it's just not in him." Tsunade and several other jounin including Kakashi who was also there nodded in unison. "I find it a little too convenient that he almost kills Sasuke and 'gets kidnapped' the night before his trial with the council," Danzo retorted harshly. Joy and wonder soon graced the group of shinobi as none other than Sakura showed up and applied her two cents to the argument, "He was acting different last night when I saw him in the hospital, he left his hitae-ite by Sasuke's hospital nightstand when he left, but not before assaulting me! And his eyes were changing colors from red to blue and purple."

Danzo smiled at the girl and acknowledged her information, "Yes the same red eyes of the..." Tsunade put her hand over Danzo's mouth and glared at him, "DANZO, nobody breaks that law in front of low level shinobi!" Danzo pushed her hand away merely smirked. "What law?" the pink girl whined. Kakashi broke into the little ring of wonder that was going on, "You said he left his Hitae-ite? Naruto would never do that, it means too much to him. I think this is obviously some kind of kidnapping set up to look like he went rogue."

Danzo sighed at Kakashi for derailing his theory. There was unanimous agreement with Kakashi seeing as how everybody knew the boy treasured his Hitae-ite. 'That pink haired girl just ruined my one chance to send hunter-nin after the kid…shit.' Danzo thought to himself as he walked away without another word. He knew he could get the council to back him up fortunately. Sakura took her leave as well saying she had to be by her "Sasuke-kun's side." Tsunade turned to the Anbu and Jounin present and told them to gather at the Hokage tower for a Jounin meeting. Everybody dispersed except the medic nin disposing of the bodies and Jiraiya. The man looked at Tsunade with a worried look on his face, "What would Itachi want with Naruto do you think?"

The hokage taking another look at the bodies sighed heavily, "There's no telling, but he does know Naruto is the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, I wouldn't doubt if he had some kind of sick motive." Jiraiya looked over his former teammate who had a horrified look on her face, "Tsunade-hime, you okay?" The woman snapped back into her proper state of mind and replied quietly so the medics wouldn't hear, "Something was wrong about him when I saw him last night…he wasn't his usual self; he threatened to kill Danzo, and he had this dark attitude." Jiraiya's raised an eyebrow at this, "You're sure it was him and not some imposter?" She looked at him like he was stupid, "I can sense his chakra, no way that wasn't him."

Meanwhile said blonde was jumping through the trees at surprising speed. He had been running all night just in case anybody was hot on his trail. His inhuman stamina was a true gift to be proud of he thought to himself as we wondered what he was going to do. 'Those people from wave country think I'm a hero, maybe I'll stay with them for a bit till I figure out a plan.' The former genin planned as he panted heavily from the long night of tree sprinting. "**You can't stay in one place for too long, or they'll find you. This will be a hotspot as soon as they find out you're missing." **

Heeding the fox's warning, Naruto started to plan ahead of Wave, 'Where could I go kyuubi?' The demon fox simply answered with a question, "**Where does darkness rain?"**

Naruto had no clue what that could mean, 'Reign as in rule? Or Rain as in fall?' the fox just laughed in his head. 'Big help…well I guess I'll figure that out later, anyways can you teach me new Jutsu Kyuubi?' The fox stopped laughing briefly and bluntly replied, "**Jutsu? HAHAHAHA what do you think I am? Human?"** Naruto facepalmed at the fox's ridiculous demeanor. 'You seem to be in an awfully good mood.' The blond landed by the edge of the forest and walked on the path that lead across the Great Naruto Bridge (I forgot the name lol I think that's it)

"**I can't directly teach you any jutsu, but I know a place where you could learn some. I just so happen to know the location of a hidden vault in this cave I used to live in. Conveniently, it has treasures I collected from idiot ninja over the years. It is protected by a powerful barrier I placed before I left, so I doubt anyone has found it."**

Naruto stopped halfway over the bridge looking into the water again, 'So you have a vault of everything I would ever want? How in the world would I learn any of it without a teacher?' Suddenly Naruto's eyes began to burn again as he saw them change color in his reflection. "**With the power of the Rinnegan you can master in Jutsu in very short time…not to mention with your shadow clones the time it would take you master a jutsu would be like five minutes." **The fox chuckled in his head. Naruto's eyes were now purple with rings in them. 'So this is the Rinnegan huh?' he said to himself more than kyuubi. The fox spoke to him once again, "**I wouldn't suggest staying here…one of these blabbermouth idiots will go spouting off you have purple eyes and half of the shinobi world is going to send assassins after you." **

'Why would the other nations send assassins after me? He inquired. "**Well the Kages might see you as a threat seeing as how you have the Rinnegan and would likely send nothing short of an army after you." **

'How would I live if I can't ever be spotted anywhere?' the blond asked irritated by the notion of living alone. "**The time will come when you reveal yourself and can usurp power to challenge the other nations…until that time, we ride solo." ** 'Fine but where is this cave of yours?' the blond asked curiously. "**Well we are currently east of fire country (**Mr. Unknown Uchiha killed the north guards to throw the Konoha nin off of his tracks) **on this bridge to Wave…if I remember correctly, it is Northwest of the Valley of the End between Takigakure and Otogakure. I can't remember it off the top of my head, but the cave is hidden by a waterfall near the borders of waterfall country."**

'For some kind of an all-knowing demon fox god, you sure do act like an old man.' The blond laughed as he began his long trek back through fire country. 'I came all this way and this stupid cave of yours is all the way northwest of Konoha? That's the complete opposite direction!' Naruto yelled at the fox as he set off once again. He looked one last time at his eyes which were still purple as he silently walked away not even glancing back at the village in wave country which was within viewing distance.

He sighed at the mental image of him covering fire country again risking his discovery

One week later in a hospital room a certain raven-haired Uchiha woke in shock, "What the…where am I?" His voice stirred a pink haired girl from her sleep who was lying on a chair next to his bed. Sasuke glared at Sakura not wanting to ever see her face again, 'Shit Naruto must have brought me back.' The Uchiha sat up much to the disapproving whining sounds he heard coming from Sakura, "Sasuke-kun you're hurt don't sit up you need your rest." He wondered if he actually was killed and woke up in hell as he stared at her with pure disgust.

The boy looked down at his chest and saw a lot of padded wrappings around his chest. 'Guess his Rasengan hit me…but how? I had a fully developed Sharingan, I would have seen it. Sasuke was lost in thought thinking of his blond friend completely tuning out everything Sakura was saying. Then to his mighty rescue, Danzo, Tsunade, and two Anbu walked in to greet him.

"Ah Sasuke-san it is good to see you're alive," Danzo said in his normal weasel manner. Sasuke told the guy to fuck off with his eyes and looked at Tsunade for a minute and asked, "Where is Naruto?" Sakura shouted at this comment, "Who cares, he almost killed you, He's gone Sasuke it's for the best." Sasuke just felt like tearing her lame pink hair out for insulting his only friend, "You have no room to insult him bitch, he's my friend…" Sasuke stated coldly as he stood up and made eye contact with Tsunade waiting for an answer.

She had a distressed look on her face and spoke sadly, "He's missing Sasuke…we have no idea what happened to him…some think it's a kidnapping, while others believe he went rogue. Either way the council has authorized the use of hunter nin to bring him in…alive or dead." Tsunade had a defeated look on her face clearing indicating that the council had favored Danzo's theory over Jiraiya's. Sasuke looked pissed at the thought of Naruto bringing him back just to go rogue. "He left his Hitae-ite by your night stand before he disappeared," Danzo added. Sasuke's Sharingan flared as he heard this. Tsunade handed the forehead protector to Sasuke who stared at it fiercely.

"Why don't you fill me in on why you think this is a kidnapping," the raven haired boy requested. Tsunade took several minutes to explain the situation to Sasuke as she stared out a window. Sasuke spoke up after she was finished, "That definitely sounds like a Mangekyo Sharingan…Itachi used that on me before he left." He received wide eyed stares from the inhabitants in the room, especially Danzo. "He wouldn't go rogue…your theory is full of shit Danzo, Itachi has taken him!" Sasuke yelled at the old man who seemed rather confused that the Uchiha would defend somebody who almost killed him.

"Why are you defending him Sasuke?" Tsunade asked in a sincerely curious way. "He was…is my best and only true friend," the raven haired boy said as he seemed less interested in his surroundings and was lost in thought. "What about MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Sasuke-kun?" the pink haired girl whined annoyingly. He just looked at her for half a second and started to walk out of the room. As he walked past Danzo and reached the door the man spoke up, "Don't try looking for him, or even think of leaving this village, because I got you under a full squad of Anbu surveillance."

'I want this guy to die…' he thought to himself as he didn't even bother with a response. Then once again to his annoyance Sakura blocked his path with tear-filled eyes, "Why don't you like me!" she sobbed pathetically. "I don't like weak people, and I hate the color pink," Sasuke answered honestly internally laughing at the look on her face. He was under house arrest, so the only thing he could do was go home and train.

Back with our favorite Jinchuuriki, Naruto had made surprising progress through fire country undetected and was nearing on the cave Kyuubi spoke of. He was currently in a small camp he set up briefly. He had a pretty eventful week as he ran through several towns stealing supplies he needed and even managed to find some orange dye that matched the exact color of Kyuubi's fur. "**That's so good of my little kit to wanna be just like me"** Kyuubi mentioned as he began dying his air orange.

'I figure I'll need a new identity if I'm a missing nin and all. So if I have different hair and eyes they won't think it's me…well unless they get a good look at my whisker marks.' he thought to himself cursing his own logic. "**You idiot…it won't matter, because we're going to be spending a lot of time in that cave."**

The blond started dying his hair much to the Kyuubi's amusement. As he finished he let it soak in for a few minutes, in the running stream 'I have to live in some stupid cave for how long exactly?' he inquired painfully. "**Well that depends on how fast you learn all the bullshit ninja junk I saved. I knew there was a good reason for keeping those scrolls after I killed that one town…" **the fox drifted off into a nervous chuckle as he changed the subject, "**it's way better than you're going to expect, just trust me on that one kit."**

Naruto began to pack up his camp and made his way downriver. "**You're going to wanna keep an eye out for twin waterfalls and a huge stone boulder in between them. Once we reach it, use my Chakra,"**

He searched for what seemed an hour for this stupid boulder receiving fake praise from the Kyuubi for being a master of awareness. Finally after passing through a shaded forest he found the waterfall at the split of the river. "**About time kit, ok now use this chakra…" **Naruto felt the familiar red chakra cover his body as he walked through the boulder.

As he walked through the large cavern, he imagined Kyuubi squeezing through the chamber. It was fairly large, but not extravagant or anything. He kept following the trail and finally came upon an open field with grass, water, and piles upon piles of priceless items, food, and scrolls. Strangely though, it had an open sky above it, as well as super high cliffs surrounding it.

"Where are we?" he said out loud to himself. "**Welcome to the Fox Den kit, my treasure is stacked over that ninja vault in here. **'How has nobody found it with an open sky above it?' **"It was a barrier I placed a long time ago, somewhat like what you would call Genjutsu."** The now orange-haired ninja looked around in disbelief… "This is too good to be true."

"**Now you see why I kept telling you to leave…but no you had to go all emotionally compromised on me Heh. Anyways, the good news is you're here now." **The purple eyed boy went to the scrolls immediately and read the first one, "Wind Mastery techniques…" Somehow right then the blond knew he was going to like it here.

Alright there was chapter two for you guys. Hope you enjoyed, I'll put the third chapter up sometime later this week. Before anybody starts asking…no Sasuke and Naruto will not be having any kind of romance, I merely wanted to emphasize the fact that they were friends and Naruto was one of the few people Sasuke respects. Sorry to all the Sakura fans for the bashing, but I just don't have the best opinion of her. As far as the council and jounin meetings I left out, you can thank me for sparing you the trouble of reading the familiar political bullshit the council always does LOL. There will be some Akatsuki fun in later chapters, but I don't want to rush the plot if you catch my drift. Anko will make a triumphant appearance in chapter 3 for those of you who are sad to have missed her this chapter. Feel free to comment if you have something to mention about the story. I am fire-proof, so feel free to flame me if you felt personally wronged by anything I have said.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't want to spoil you guys with super quick updates all the time, but I felt the need to get some more momentum while I had some free time. Anyways, one thing I wanted to add about the romance in this story, it will be a small harem, but there will be dominant females within in. I'm sure most of you can assume who the main contenders are already. Also to reply to what HoroSeishin said about Sasuke, yeah I actually do enjoy his character to a certain extent and I try not to bash him if I can avoid it. As far as Sakura goes, I just never got in to her at all, because she never had anything that made her unique or cool. Not only that but she's a whiny bitch. I'm sorry if anyone disagrees with me on that matter, but it's just my opinion. Anyways on to the chapter, I hope you guys enjoy.

**Chapter 3: Mastery and Pain**

A black cloaked man with red clouds stalked his latest target for Akatsuki. The man wore a Konoha headband with a slash through it symbolizing that he was a missing nin. The dark-haired man had a deadly look on his face as his red eyes traced the footprints of the Jinchuuriki. Strangely though he followed it all the way to some waterfall and then the trail simply vanishes…Itachi was frustrated the trail went blank after all the trouble he went through to get the kyuubi container out of the city undetected. 'Something's different about this one…almost like it knew we were following it,' he thought to himself as he stared at the rather ordinary waterfall splitting two ways.

A second man walks up behind Itachi with an eager face for good news. The Uchiha simply states, "He just disappeared…not even my Sharingan can find any trace of his escape or any kind of concealment." The second man was known as Kisame, one of the former seven swordsmen of the mist. The man spoke up in a carefree way, "Ah don't worry about it Itachi-sama we'll find the kid somewhere in this country…maybe that was a shadow clone."

Itachi looked completely unconvinced, "This one isn't like the others Kisame…he's cunning. I had heard tales of the Kyuubi's mastery in deception. The fox isn't like the other tailed beasts, it is patient and scheming…indomitable. It is impossible to control the fox…somehow it must have be aiding Naruto." The shark man gave Itachi a surprised look, "Seems strange the Biju is helping its container…the rest of them tried to dominate their Jinchuuriki's mind." Itachi glanced at him briefly answering him, "Well besides the seal the 4th Hokage placed on him, there are other reasons why that might happen…none of them are good. Obviously, Naruto has something beneficial to the Kyuubi in the long run." Kisame shrugged in confusion not fully aware of what Itachi meant. "The Jinchuuriki is the 4th Hokage's son and most likely inherited the bloodline of the Namikaze.(Not sure if it's an actually bloodline, but for this story it is Kthxbai) The Flying Thunder God Technique" Kisame sighed in frustration, "Another yellow flash…with the Kyuubi inside him? Great… this kid will be tough to catch if he can teleport, let alone take down."

Itachi narrowed his gaze into a distant glare, "He's also the last surviving member of the Uzumaki clan, and that is also problematic; they were wiped out for a reason." Kisame thought out loud for a moment, "Never heard of the Uzumaki Clan before." Itachi replied blankly, "I never had either until I started reviewing confidential secrets in black ops when I was in Anbu. They were from Whirlpool Country. Which is now known as the land of waves.(A/N No clue about it, so just roll with my version) The clan had two bloodlines…one was unnatural longevity. They have inhuman stamina and chakra capabilities making them dangerous during long fights." Kisame smiled at the mention of inhuman chakra. "The other bloodline was a very dangerous seal placed on every member giving them the ability to do something known as chakra weaving. The seal would kill any normal person without the super stamina and chakra the clan possessed. To top off the danger they posed, they were also masters of fuinjutsu. (Sealing)

Kisame began pacing as Itachi sat down on a nearby rock distant in thought. "So Itachi-sama what the hell is chakra weaving?" The Uchiha looked over at him silent for few moments, "I'm not sure to be honest, but I hear it allowed them to combine elemental jutsu as well as infuse their own bodies with certain elements. Naturally, it was too powerful to leave unchecked, so Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo decided to join forces to take it out. Anbu black ops from Konoha helped whirlpool, but it got overwhelmed and the clan wiped out. The dirt was swept was under the rug after that and nobody even remembers the clan unless they either knew a member or worked for Anbu."

Kisame started laughing, "Ok so let me get this straight…This kid is the last surviving member of two powerful clans, he is the Kyuubi's container, and he the Yellow Flash's son?" Itachi sighed as he nodded his head. "How the hell could this get worse? Next thing you know he'll magically spawn a Rinnegan. (Sick Irony for you Kisame LOL) Why the fuck did we volunteer for the nine-tails then? If that kid discovers his bloodlines he won't be easy to capture like the others." Itachi stared at the streaming river tuning out Kisame's ranting, 'Maybe, something good could come of this…maybe he could be the one to kill him…' Kisame stared awkwardly at Itachi shocked to see the man showing a hint of doubt as he gazed at the ground. 'Itachi-sama seems…distressed by something; now that's a sight to see.' Without another word Itachi stood up and glanced over at the waterfalls.

"Let's go back to Wave…he must have gone there for a reason," Kisame suggested. Itachi nodded at him and the pair continued on their way. The Uchiha looked back and wondered just how Naruto had eluded him, 'Why did we have to volunteer for the smart Jinchuuriki…that fox must be helping him hide somehow. Madara won't like this setback at all.'

Meanwhile back in Konoha, a certain purple haired Kunoichi was sitting at her favorite Dango restaurant with her fellow Jounin friends. This wonderful circle of friends included Kakashi, Yamato, Kurenai, Asuma, Shikaku, and Inoichi. The group was sitting at a back table in the restaurant discussing the events of the Valley of the End battle leading up to Naruto's disappearance. Anko remained surprisingly quiet thinking about Naruto as the conversation went on. Our favorite silver haired Jounin spoke up, "I found it impressive that he defeated Sasuke despite his lack of training." A few nods followed this statement until Shikaku spoke up, "He was receiving training from Lord Jiraiya, so it doesn't seem that strange to me." Yamato shook his head for a moment adding, "Not as much as you would think, Jiraiya is always busy."

"I hear he mastered a jutsu developed by the 4th Hokage," Kurenai stated. A surprising nod of agreement came from Kakashi, "Yes, I found it very inspirational that my sensei's son mastered the Rasengan his father created." Yamato's eyes shot wide at his comment shocked Kakashi would openly state that well kept secret. The entire group had looks of confusion and disbelief on their faces. Inoichi bluntly retorted, "There's no way…are you saying Naruto is the 4th's son?" Anko's daydreaming snapped back to the conversation intrigued by the juicy information flying around. Asuma laughed out loud, "I knew it!" Everyone awkwardly stared at him for his random outburst. He looked at them all for a minute before asking, "What? What's with the stares…you guys seriously didn't notice the resemblance?"

Kurenai skeptically replied, "The 4th Hokage was the best Ninja leaf has ever had…kind of hard to imagine Naruto as his son." Yamato interjected, "You haven't seen him lately Kurenai-san…he's powerful for a genin." Anko decided to spice up the conversation a bit, "He's a deviant sexplosion waiting to happen…If he looks anything like his father when he grows older then you might want to stake your claim now, before I do!" Everyone at the table visibly tensed at the thought of Anko trying to seduce Naruto. "Anyways…it's so obvious he's the 4th's son…have you people looked at their hair? Or the eyes?" Shikaku mentioned trying to break the awkard silence that followed Anko's comment.

Asuma smiled at the mental comparison, "I knew it! Ha, and you guys couldn't figure that out on your own?" Inoichi scowled at him, "Well I had thought about it once, but Ino told me he was the dead last academy student and I figured there was no way." Kakashi changed the subject as he went into his more serious tone, "I heard from Sakura that their fight was devastating. It tore up the Valley of the End. She said it could have resembled the fight between Madara and the Shodai Hokage." Shikaku inquired curiously, "Do elaborate on what she said…I've heard different stories from the elders and the Hokage." The group all stared at Kakashi awaiting an answer he sighed heavily, "Her story is actually correct except for the part about Naruto trying to kill Sasuke…not any logic in that. Why would be bring the Uchiha back then?"

Yamato hung his head dejectedly, "So it's true…he used the Kyuubi's chakra to defeat Sasuke's cursed seal?" Kakashi nodded. Odd looks graced the features of the other jounin present. Asuma had a distressed look at the mention of Kyuubi's chakra. "How is that even possible? Doesn't that seal on him prevent it?" Yamato answered much to everyone's surprise, "His seal was designed to allow him to use the Kyuubi's powers. Minato wanted his son to at least get something out of bearing the burden of being a Jinchuuriki. Since the Kyuubi is vastly more powerful and intelligent compared to the other Biju the seal isn't perfect and he had fail safes in place just in case he reached 8 tails. He also taught me how to reseal him should the necessity ever arise."

"Wow…" the group said in unison. Even Kakashi was surprised by this information. "Strange how nobody can keep a secret in a village full of ninja," out of nowhere a blond haired woman walked into the restaurant and pulled up a chair. "Hokage-sama, we were just…" Yamato was cut off by Tsunade, "So you guys having a slumber party in here or what?" Anko laughed as the Hokage continued, "Now can somebody explain to me what was wrong with Naruto when he brought back Sasuke?"

"That was kind of out of the blue," Asuma mentioned. The Hokage was awaiting an answer and finally Kakashi replied, "I am not sure Hokage-sama, but I know something was different about him because he had this distant look on his face." Kurenai looked at Tsunade asking cautiously, "Do you know about Naruto's family?" The older woman glared at her before answering, "Yes I do, his father was a hero…and so is he." Kurenai frowned clearly not satisfied with the answer, "I mean his ancestry, relatives, mother?"

The group stared at the Hokage eagerly awaiting a response. Unfortunately for them, his mother was one of the best guarded secrets in all of Konoha, "That's classified…and if you guys keep openly discussing classified information then you might end up spending a few days with Ibiki down in interrogation and torture." The group all shuddered at the thought of hanging out with the sick masochist and sadist that was Ibiki.

"Has there been any news from Anbu or the hunter squads sent after Naruto?" Asuma asked. Tsunade thought for a moment and answered, "Yes there was one lead…it went all the way to Wave Country, but then it disappears. There is also a few people in the northeastern villages who said they saw a blonde haired boy quickly passing through their town. Right now that could only mean three things: One, he escaped his kidnapper and is on the run, two, it was just some other blonde kid, and three…" Tsunade trailed off with a painful look on her face she tried to finish the sentence but couldn't as she felt a lump in her throat. Kakashi finished for her, "Three, he went rogue and is now a missing nin."

Shocked faces met the statement. "He left his Hitae-ite though…and he disappears the night before the council had accused him of attempted execution of Sasuke," Shikaku stated the obvious clearly upsetting Tsunade more. Suddenly as if he had been summoned, Sasuke walked in the restaurant and sees the large gathering of older shinobi. 'Hmm, I wonder what that's all about?' he thought to himself as he walked over to the Hokage as if he wanted something. Tsunade turned to meet his cold distracted gaze.

"Is there something you needed Sasuke?" The boy stood silent for a moment. "I was wondering if I could check Naruto's apartment…and if you could find a way to get these Anbu from breathing down my neck every time I take a piss." Tsunade thought for a moment about his request. It wasn't unreasonable to let him see Naruto's apartment, but she had no choice in the matter pertaining to his curfew and his night time house arrest. "You did just try and leave Konoha, Sasuke, nobody is letting you out of their sight until you regain some trust and prestige. As for the Apartment thing, I don't mind; just let me know what you discover." The Uchiha nodded and left without even greeting the jounin present."

"That student of yours sure seems odd Kakashi-kun," Kurenai remarked. Inoichi nodded in agreement, "Yeah he seems awfully obsessed with somebody who just kicked his ass…I thought he and Naruto hated each other." Kakashi just stared at Sasuke's back as the boy left the restaurant, "No…They were good friends, and their rival personalities complemented each other well." The others merely waved it off without another thought. "I wonder why he wants to see Naruto's apartment," Anko asked puzzled by the Uchiha. Tsunade answered promptly, "He's looking for clues most likely."

Sasuke was about half a block down the street before a thought crossed his mind, 'If he did leave, he would leave me clues…this headband is one of them; he's trying to tell me something.' He noticed the strange look he was getting from the citizens he passed by. They were staring…always staring. Being the last Uchiha was something he had to live up to, or be doomed to forsaking his clan's name forever. His mind lingered on the thought of Itachi capturing Naruto, but he had doubts that it was the whole story. 'Maybe he finally realized the truth…him and I are both victims to the atrocities of this corrupted village.

The raven haired boy made his way down several back roads and finally found Naruto's apartment. He jumped up the stairs and went to the end door, 'Strange how nobody else lives in this building.' As he made his way to the door, he saw it busted open and sighed. 'Looks like Anbu, or the hunters scoured the place for ways to track him.' He walked inside and saw the entire living room ripped to shreds. He stared at it rather shocked. Besides the destruction of the room he noticed one thing in particular the bothered him, 'That picture frame is shattered…somebody must have thrown it. I wonder if Naruto did.'

Sasuke walked over to the shattered frame and picked up the picture of his team and stared at it for a minute. 'You left didn't you Naruto?' he thought to himself piecing together in his mind what could have happened. He put the picture down and started walking away, 'This place is stripped of anything that could possibly lead to him. Wait…is that a book?" Sasuke noticed a book on the ground and picked it up. "Rikudo Sennin," he read out loud interested in why Naruto would have a book like this. He flipped open to a place with a book marker. He read the lines of the page, "_The immortal soul is written in a storm of blood as the truth unravels once again. Seduced by the taint of darkness the power surging in his heart is born of pain. The darkness that rained upon his life will be reborn from his wrath, destroying all in its path. As the world goes black, the glow of his eyes will shine eternally. They witnessed the rebirth of life and delivered the retribution of death…blinded by pain and suffering, but awakened to the true nature of the world." _

The raven haired Uchiha stared at the book disturbed to find Naruto had been reading the strange contents. 'This is some heavy shit right here…I can't let the others find out or they'll assume the worst,' Sasuke took a moment to try and understand the meaning of the passage, 'The darkness that rained upon his life will be reborn from his wrath. That means Vengeance…' He stared at the book for a moment longer before deciding what to do with it. 'I must keep it, maybe some kind of hidden message will lead me to where Naruto has gone,' the Uchiha thought as he carefully hid the book praying no Anbu were watching. He left the apartment and headed home so he could study the book more in privacy.

Back in the Fox Den, Naruto had been going through rigorous jutsu mastering over the past few weeks as he deciphered scrolls and practiced techniques with his shadow clones. Every night he was haunted by dreams of the evil cloaked man, who by this point he had come to realize was himself, or what he could become. The corruption power promised was doing sick things to his subconscious mind…adding to the fact Kyuubi was part of it didn't make it any easier to resist. So far he had discovered a wide variety of elemental jutsus and studied the important ones. Still though even with all the scrolls that the fox had somehow acquired, the boy couldn't be quenched of his thirst for knowledge by simple elemental jutsus…no, he needed something terrible. 'Is there anything besides all of these jutsus? Some kind of super technique would help in case the guys who were hot on my ass decide to show up when I leave?'

"**I have no clue what's on those stupid pieces of paper, I only know where they are all from. I do remember that the ones with the spiral on them are Whirlpool village scrolls…it was a nice village before burning to the ground HAHAHAHAHA," **the fox laughed maniacally. 'You really are one sick fuck Kyuubi…' Naruto criticized. The giant fox snarled in response, "**They were a bunch of peace-lovers who squandered their power…they had it coming if you ask me. It's like I keep telling you time and time again, 'Only the strong survive…those who can't exploit their superiorities over others are fools who will all die.'"**

Naruto walked over to a stack of scrolls with spirals on them and opened one up, "Chakra weaving? What the hell?" He began to frantically read over the scrolls in an attempt to decipher what it was. He finally found what he had been looking for, though he wasn't expecting the contents. "Uzumaki Clan Seal…a seal placed upon the young members of the Uzumaki clan that possess the inherited bloodline of longevity and massive chakra. The seal allows the clan member to forge chakra and combine elemental jutsus. It can temporarily infuse one with the elements allowing them advantages in stealth, defense, and amplifies elemental jutsus…holy shit Kyuubi why didn't you mention this before?"

"**Chakra weaving is a unique technique only the Uzumaki Clan could do. The reason for that is because it requires massive amounts of chakra and the clan seal which allowed the user to manually manifest their chakra in different forms. So say for example you combine a fire jutsu with a wind jutsu, you could devastate people with burning wind…Ah it's such a beautiful technique, only made better by infusing weapons with multiple elements."**

'I'm part of the Uzumaki clan…so I could weave chakra as well right?' the orange haired boy asked. "**Yes…but there is a downside to your reasoning…I have no clue how they did the seals. You might be able to find clues at the ruins of Uzushiogakure **(Village Hidden among the whirling tides).

'Where is Whirlpool country exactly?' the Jinkchuuriki asked. The demon fox was silent for a moment before finally answering, **"Whirlpool Country is currently known as Wave country ever since the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out." **The boy held his head in shame, 'Who wiped them out?' the fox laughed in his head delighting in the future consequences the villages would face. "**Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo all led an integrated assault on them out of desperate fear of the growing power the clan had. If it had been a part of one of the so called great five shinobi nations then it might have survived."**

'How is it that you know so much Kyuubi? I mean about ninja and politics and what not.' Kyuubi didn't answer him at first but finally broke the silence, "**I have been around for a long time, and tend to be in the right place at the right time to know about everything that goes on in my territory." **Naruto accepted his answer and proceeded to finish examining the Uzumaki scrolls. 'Hmmm, it says here that the seal can only be learned at the Temple of Whirling Tides…apparently they were big on tradition.'

"**You know there is something else I thought you should know too…about your Rinnegan. It is not just an amped up version of the Sharingan, but also serves other purposes…It gives you power over life and death, with it you can resurrect people and dominate their wills through the paths of pain. This would allow you to control multiple bodies."**

'That's all a bit too deep for me Kyuubi…' The fox sighed as he elaborated further, "**You can kill powerful foes and raise them to serve you. Bestowing a gift of pain upon them allows you to implant your will into them giving you the power to control their actions. However, when you don't directly control them they can retain their own minds but do as you order unquestionably."**

'Shit no wonder people are terrified of the Rinnegan…how do I bestow the gift of pain?' a laugh could be heard echoing in his mind, "**By becoming pain and sharing it with those who have earned of the gift…you'll know what to do when the time comes." **'You and your fucking riddles are killing me damn fox…'

Naruto fell to the ground and gazed at the sky relaxing as his shadow clones ran around him busy working through scrolls, practicing taijutsu, or working on building him a semi decent living space with the junk the packrat fox had laying all over the area. After finishing with their specified tasks he simply dispelled them. After a while he felt an insane amount of exhaustion wash over him as he faded into unconsciousness.

The dream was different, the same man, except this time the man was destroying Kumogakure (cloud village) The Raikage jumped in front of him to stop the destruction, and yelled, "**Hiraishin" (Sparking Electric Needle) **A bolt of lightning flashed from the raining sky and hit the Raikage's arm as he charged a super powered bolt at the man.

It flew at the man with incredible speed but stopped short, "**Shinra Tensei."** (Divine Judgement…I think). Suddenly the projectile bolt of lightning soaked into an invisible shield that surrounded the man and then it reflected back at the Raikage threefold who could only watch in horror as he felt the burning sting of electricity hit him. His body twitched wildly as he tried to stand up. The cloaked man with the Rinnegan spoke to the injured Raikage, "Your power wanes old man, and soon your death shall only further compliment the undeniable truth…that you are all nothing before me."

The Raikage coughed up blood as he looked into the ringed purple eyes full of anger. "You're just some kind of sick freak…the nations will never surrender to you. *cough* rivers of blood won't bring you peace or dominance. I'll be a martyr for standing against you…they'll speak my name for centuries to come." The cloaked man smiled and responded appropriately, "Your name shall be stricken from history as I paint the ashes of your village with your blood. A storm is coming…MY STORM, and when it arrives it shall erase every pathetic ideal you hold dear to your heart."

The Raikage looked horrified as he stared at the man. The cloaked man paced back and forth turning his back to the defeated Kage. "You're power obsessed monster…I only wish I could be there to see you fall." The cloaked man turned around and closed-hand backfisted him in the face knocking him to the ground with tremendous force. "Another 'Hero' falls," he mocked as he went through several handseals and his hands charged with different elements, one fire and the other wind. He swirled them together in a harmonic rhythm as the two were both surrounded by a vortex of fire. The rain came down faster and lightning was striking the vortex adding to its devastating force. The defeated Kage cried out in horror as the cloaked man grabbed his neck and pulled him close, "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional."

The vortex spiraled closer together and finally sucked the Raikage in the burning gale winds that tore him to pieces. The man began to laugh as fiery hurricane destroyed everything in its path. It flew at Naruto and the outline of a dragon leapt out from it at him and swallowed him whole.

A/N Well that's it for this chapter, I consider this an important part of the story, because it shows the developing changes going through his mind as his sense of morality is being twisted. In his current situation, Naruto is constantly hearing the Kyuubi's dark thoughts mixed with his own dreams of eternal glory and mass destruction. I know some of you are probably looking forward to the female action, but fear not for they will come in time…Savoring the moment it happens will be worth it. I hope you guys liked the dream as well. Anyways there you go. Next chapter should be up soon, a week at the latest. A quick sneak peek at next chapter, Naruto heads to Wave and shit gets real.


	4. Chapter 4

Yeah I apologize if I got some of the names wrong for the jutsus and the 4th Hokage's technique. Like I said in chapter 1, I just recently got back into Naruto and don't remember half of them. Also, replying to the review about Naruto being a clone of Pein in this fic, I must ask you to read the summary again. He is Pein in this story, it'll be his alias when he starts getting noticed for his actions. Anyways, I know that Naruto seems to be turning into a villain, but you may be surprised how the fine line between who's the good guy and who's the bad guy sways constantly. One more thing to add, I have different plans pertaining to the paths of pain in this fic. Some of you may like it, but some of you probably won't. Either way, I will try to make it reasonable for those of you who have a problem with personalization of things like this. This will be a much more interesting chapter for those of you who got bored by the stereotypical training chapter. Anyways, on with the story.

**Chapter 4: Bad News**

Somewhere within the northern borders of Fire Country two mysterious cloaked men were making their way east. As they passed beneath a large tree, a third figure silently leapt from the tree above and landed in front of them.

"Zetsu tells me you lost the nine tails!" A cloaked man with a spiraled mask looked upon the two missing nin before him. Kisame looked shocked to see Tobi in a serious mood using a deadly tone of voice on the duo compared to his normal careless idiotic attitude. Tobi began to pace around them as he began to laugh to himself, "So this one escaped you Itachi? You always have held such promise, but that jinchuuriki is a genin from what I understand…you disgrace me. Such a waste…and here I thought I was going to name one of my kids after you. Still though, I find it peculiar that you didn't apprehend him at the village in the first place."

The masked man was glaring at Itachi, his one red eye visible through the hole in the mask. Itachi sighed, "I didn't think it would have been a good idea to alert the entire city of Konoha that we were after Jinchuuriki. Jiraiya was present in the city at the time, and would have free leave to come snooping if he discovered our purpose. I created a diversion which allowed the kid a day's journey to escape after he left the city. We followed him to Wave Country, but for some reason he turned around and went back through Fire Country. We eventually made it to the edge of Takigakure's territory (Waterfall Country) and his trail disappeared at this waterfall we encountered; No footprints, no chakra signature, not even a single clue." The Uchiha was looking down avoiding his leader's one visible soul-piercing eye.

"There is a flaw in your tactics…I wonder about Kisame's role in all of this? You should have intercepted him halfway down the road after he left the city." The former swordsman of the mist merely shrugged, "I was awaiting Itachi-sama to rejoin me…Tobi. There was this Jounin patrolling as well and Itachi ordered me to remain undetected. Plus I didn't see any reason in alerting the kid he was being followed until we had a viable way to subdue the nine-tails if it transformed. I wouldn't stand much of a chance in any attempt at taking down the nine-tails alone. Not to mention, what gives you the right to make demands of us Tobi?"

The masked leader merely stared at him for a few moments, he redirected his focus to Itachi awaiting some kind of answer. The Uchiha spoke up, "Madara-sama, his logic is unquestionable…the nine-tails is much more powerful than the other Biju, without my Amaterasu(I am pretty sure that's one of his Sharingan eyes) it would be near impossible to subdue it." Kisame remained silent, shocked to find out Tobi's true identity. He held his head down avoiding eye contact with Madara. The man now identified as Madara merely laughed to himself, "Yes, I remember that fox quite well…it was my favorite weapon." The two kneeling cloaked men shot confused looks at their leader. Kisame finally asked, "You've encountered it before then?" Madara took off his mask much to the surprise of Kisame. 'His face looks exactly as it did from his statue…not aged one day,' Kisame was surprised as he stared at the strangely captivating face of his leader.

"Who do you think unleashed it on Konohagakure in the first place?" Madara asked rhetorically smiling slightly as his Sharingan changed focus to Itachi meeting his Sharingan with a dangerous, painful stare. Itachi was entranced in a sea of blood and felt pain over every square inch of his body. "You can't resist the domination of my Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. No mortal or even Biju can deny my indomitable will…not even Kyuubi. The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan is the pinnacle of not only Uchiha perfection, but human perfection." Itachi finally closed his eyes as they began to bleed and he held his head down in submission. Madara laughed at this as he leaned over and pulled Itachi's face to meet his gaze once again, "I find your pitiful resistance most amusing. Your Sharingan pales in comparison to mine. Never forget your place Itachi…remember who taught you the true meaning of the Sharingan and the Uchiha."

Itachi tried to close his eyes again as blood continued to pour from them. Madara smiled at the younger Uchiha as his hand slipped around Itachi's neck and suspended him in the air. "Do you not appreciate everything I have given you?" Madara asked as a sick smile crossed his face. Itachi quietly submitted, "Yes, Madara-sama…you were my savior and my life is yours." Kisame looked up finally with a wide-eyed glance, 'I've never seen anybody man-handle Itachi-sama like that…Shit I can't believe Tobi is that powerful.' Madara looked back over to Kisame as he dropped Itachi who fell to his feet. Madara laughed to himself once again watching Kisame's eyes nearly explode as he punched Itachi to the ground. "I hope you learned a valuable lesson in obedience today…I trust you will keep your mouth shut about my identity, Kisame?" The shark man bowed his head in tribute. "Good, now go you two…I have different plans for the boy. Bring the Nine-tail's Jinchuuriki before me, for it shall require a subtle approach to defeat him. Don't fail me again!"

Without another word the man put his mask back on and disappeared from sight. Itachi stood up painfully and stared at his partner for a moment. Kisame looked at him lost in thought before he finally spoke, "I think that deserves an explanation…is he 'the' Uchiha Madara?" Itachi wiped his blood-soaked face briefly before answering, "Yes…he is the founder of the Uchiha Clan, and the only known person to have ever mastered the Sharingan. It made him immortal, and gave him great power."

Kisame looked shocked at the news, "That must mean…he's the most powerful Ninja alive…What was he talking about…what did he give you?" Itachi held his head dejectedly, "That's a story for another time…just don't tell the others…" Kisame nodded as the two began to regain their composure. "So, what should we do now?" the swordsman asked. "We should continue to Wave Country and lay a trap for the fox."

The two continued their journey without another word. Kisame occasionally stole glances at his superior distressed to see the different emotions plaguing Itachi, 'I've never seen Itachi so…submissive. He NEVER shows emotion, so that must make this some kind of super bad omen.' Itachi was ignoring the curious glances Kisame was shooting him as they continued to walk, 'He's invincible…there is no point in even resisting him anymore.'

Memories were rushing through Itachi as he tried to contemplate how he ended up working for Konoha's arch-enemy, 'The promise of power…it has brought me nothing but pain and suffering. So much death…nothing ever changes. So long as the Mangekyo Sharingan exists, its evil shall be a perversion of our clan, forcing us to kill our friends and family all in the name of glory and power.' Itachi was lost in his mind reliving moments of his live trying to make sense of his situation, 'How did I end up here? I killed my best friend Shisui to gain these cursed eyes, which will eventually fail me. I killed my entire clan under orders from Konoha. My own brother thinks I'm the bad guy…he didn't deserve the life he had, but then again neither did I. He won't be able to handle the truth.'

The two missing nin continued walking not really in any hurry. Kisame broke the Uchiha's brooding, "Itachi-sama, I was wondering something…Why does 'Tobi' want Biju anyways?" pulled away from his inner reflections, Itachi casually answered him, "He told me that they are all weapons of great power that we can use to attack villages and later defeat in order to establish dominance over the Shinobi nations and their governments." Kisame shrugged at his answer clearing unsatisfied, "If he's as powerful as you say, why would he need us to gather these tailed beasts? Do you think he has some kind of other plan for them?" Itachi knew deep down that Madara was using Akatsuki's goals to his own ends, but speaking on them wouldn't get him any closer to killing Madara. "I try not to question his intentions, and neither should you unless you care to join me in his next lesson of obedience." Kisame laughed at the thought of Tobi beating him up.

Meanwhile, somewhere in a dark room in the Uchiha compound barely lit by a candle, Sasuke began to review more contents of the book he had found in Naruto's apartment. Despite his academy based understanding of the Sage of six paths, Sasuke was not prepared for some of the dark messages within the actual book. He read the contents of the last chapter, which was a logistical commentary from several known Shinobi experts.

He read quickly trying to learn more about this mysterious hero, "_The Sage of Six Paths was a real person despite what the teachings of modern day shinobi would claim. His feats were so extraordinary that many assumed them to be tall tales and fables. According to legend, he was the only known person to wield the Rinnegan, a Doujutsu descendant from a bloodline that was believed to be from the gods themselves. He also was the Jinchuuriki of the mighty ten tails. The mythic powers of the beast may seem impossible to the scholars of today to comprehend, but in ancient times of the first pre-historic shinobi clans, feared the Beast and it was worshipped. The Sage of Six Paths eventually sealed the monster within himself with the mighty power of his Rinnegan. _

Sasuke silently gasped at the mention of a ten tails. 'I thought the nine-tails was bad…but the ten tails seems worse.' He glanced back down at the book so he could finish reading the epilogue, "_The Sage of Six Paths vanished from the ninja world after having many children and was never seen again. Legends say the ten tails eventually consumed him and he split it into nine parts before his death. Some cultist worshippers of the ancient beast claim that one day the ten tails would return. None know how true the legend is, but it has been noted that the Uchiha and Senju clans are claimed to be descendants from the Sage's bloodline, as well as the Senju's sister clan the Uzumaki._"

Sasuke nearly fell over at the last part, 'Uzumaki clan? Maybe that's why he was reading this. He must know more than he lets on… Still though that doesn't explain why he would have this book, or why the Anbu didn't see it as useful evidence.' Sasuke stared at the book for a long time after reading it. It was surprising to find an uncensored, original version of this story in Naruto's apartment, and surprising still to find out that he is part of a clan. 'Maybe I should ask Tsunade about this.' He thought trying to decide what to do. He wondered what the dangers of leaving a book like this in his home with Anbu stalking him and searching him all the time. 'I must inform Tsunade about this…it won't be safe to keep this book for long, but it'd be better she sees it…and not that prick…Danzo.'

Sasuke then held the book in his hand for a moment after deciding to bring it to Tsunade. 'I need some rest; maybe tomorrow I'll see if Tsunade can explain more about the Uzumaki clan since she is one of the few surviving Senju,' Sasuke thought as he began to fall asleep.

Deep within the Fox Den a certain orange haired ninja was awaking from a terrible dream. He sat up quietly trying to review it in his head, 'The nightmares are getting worse…they are going to drive me insane if I can't make sense of them.' He looked around at the small utopian lair of the Kyuubi wishing he could stay forever. 'Why can't I just live here for the rest of my days?' he questioned Kyuubi who could only snarl in response.

"**Well there's one thing I forgot to tell you about this little den of mine…unless you're constantly feeding it my chakra, the barrier is going to weaken and eventually dissipate. It is also consuming the chakra I left behind in it much faster than I expected…I guess the more powerful the individual the more chakra it takes to conceal his presence."**

'So you're saying this barrier of yours is going to break soon?' Naruto asked slightly worried at the thought. "**Yes, that is one problem…another one is it will leave an amplified echo of chakra here once it falls, meaning that every chunin or above ninja within fifty kilometers is going to come running for it…plus due its proximity to Takigakure, I'd advise against you allowing that to happen." **Naruto sighed annoyed that he didn't learn of this sooner, 'So what can we do about it then?'

Kyuubi growled at his question, "**It's falling as we speak…you have to destroy this place before it's discovered. The things I have here are too dangerous to leave for some idiot to discover!" **Naruto's eyes shot open, 'SHIT, you could have warned me about this ahead of time!" The fox merely sighed, "**I had no clue it would break after a few weeks…It must be your Rinnegan; something that powerful is hard to conceal."**

'So is it possible to redo the barrier? Kyuubi laughed, "**Not unless you feel like tearing off the seal to my cage."** 'What should I do…run?' The Rinnegan wielder questioned awaiting timely advise from Kyuubi. "**No…that would leave too many breadcrumbs for them to follow. I suggest you burn everything, cave in these walls, and high tail it out of here. **Naruto did as he was told and began going through several handseals, "Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire). The entire area was set ablaze and reduced to ashes at an astonishingly quick rate. "**Your Rinnegan amplifies all elemental jutsu, making them much more powerful. Plus if you get this clan seal of yours, you will be lethal." **Kyuubi commented as Naruto was destroying the small valley. The walls began to cave in as Naruto walked back through the dark cavernous entrance performing earth jutsus to cave it in as we went. He finally reached the entrance of the cave and kicked open the boulder blocking the exit.

The barrier to the Fox Den faded quickly and finally unleashed some kind of energy blast as he walked out of the cave. "**This place will be surrounded soon, so I say you go back to Wave and try and find somewhere to lay low for a while."**

"Won't they be able to follow me though?" he asked out loud to the fox. "**Perhaps, but you need to learn how to conceal your chakra otherwise there will be some political investigation on your tail…you're like a fucking beacon right now." **'How do I do that, Kyuubi?' the fiery haired ninja asked. Kyuubi's voice became calm and his demeanor passive, "**You must first suppress your emotions, breathe deeply and focus on your chakra…feel it flowing around you and within your body. Now withdraw it slowly…allow it to return. Good, now focus it into a shell around your tenketsu points."**

Upon doing as Kyuubi requested, Naruto felt concentrated energy flowing tightly around his body's chakra points. 'I feel like my chakra could explode out of me at any second.' The jinchuuriki thought as he relaxed and focused on repressing his emotions and his chakra. "**So long as you don't allow strong feelings of emotion to overwhelm your senses, then this technique will work well in concealing you from regular ninja. Still though, I doubt you'll be able to hide it from any S-class ninja. Plus the one down side is if you do unleash it, it'll be a nasty chakra spike for everyone within range…so doing such around any kind of ninja village is not a good thing."**

'I'm going to Wave Country so I can acquire this clan seal of mine. Still though, what do I do if somebody recognizes my Rinnegan Kyuubi?' The demon fox was silent for several minutes as Naruto began to leap through the trees running at high speed away from the scene of the crime.** "Well that is unfortunately inevitable, but thankfully the people of Wave are all civilians. I'm sure you can stay there for a little while. I imagine Konoha's tracker teams already scoured the place for you and left."**

Naruto continued jumping through the trees at almost inhuman speed as he began to get nervous about being followed. Out of nowhere his Biju asked him a question, "**I have a question…What do you intend to do with your paths of pain? You never really gave me an answer from before." **'I didn't know you were asking me…' Naruto replied, 'I don't think it's very humane to resurrect the dead to serve as my puppets.' Kyuubi choked on his laughter as Naruto finished his mental sentence. "**HAHAHAHAHA WHAT! Not humane? And here I thought you were actually starting to become worthy as my container. Then you go off and say something like that."**

'I don't intend on using that kind of power to disgrace the honored dead…you're not going to change my mind Fox.' Kyuubi's laughter finally began to die down as he tried to come up with a response, "**I don't understand you kit…one day you're some kind of angry monster of retribution mercilessly working to become powerful, and the next you are some self-righteous whiner complaining about your conscious…for fuck's sake."**

'I won't do it, Kyuubi. Unless they have their own minds, it makes me some kind of sick puppet master, and that's not what I intend on being remembered for.' The nine tailed fox let out a super dramatic long sigh, "**Ughh…what a fucking waste. Fine, there is a way to do as you said, though it is far less beneficial to you. You can use the Rinnegan's power to resurrect six people in total…what that does is it will create a chakra bond between you and the individuals you resurrect…Their lives are tied to yours, so if you die they all die as well. Thankfully, it doesn't work the other way around, though it does put a strain on your chakra."**

Naruto was intrigued by the information as he silently awaited the fox to continue, "**The chakra bonds you create with these individuals means that they are more powerful the closer they are to you, and vice versa. However, with this option, they regain their old minds and have free will, also you can't acquire their techniques or use them for additional fields of vision. Ultimately, it's a risky alternative because you can't directly control them." **Naruto thought about this for a few minutes as he continued running. 'Do they have to be dead for me to create this Chakra bond?' the fox replied to his question casually, "**Yeah they do, but you can kill people and resurrect them like that if you wanted…though I wouldn't do it to any of your enemies otherwise they'd become more powerful and retain their same disposition from when you killed them."**

'I am curious how you seem to know so much about the Rinnegan in general Kyuubi…almost as if you have seen it before?' Kyuubi roared violently in his cage, "**I knew the Sage of Six Paths…he was the original Jinchuuriki of the ten tails as you know…all the Biju hate him and his descendants."**

'Then why on earth are you helping me?' he shouted at the fox clearing distressed by Kyuubi's answer. Kyuubi quietly answered him, "**We are both bound to each other. You haven't been my first Jinchuuriki kit, but you were the first with a seal designed to allow our interaction. I find myself intrigued that you are the only one of the Sage's descendants to inherit his original bloodline."**

'So I'm just an experiment is what you're saying?' Naruto asked. The fox laughed at his question, "**That bluntly sums it up. I'm still trying to decide if you're even worth my time…but as long as I'm stuck in my cage, I don't really have anything better to do."**

Without another word the Jinchuuriki continued on to Wave. He was disturbed by Kyuubi's knowledge and involvement in everything. It all seemed a little too convenient; that the fox had what seemed to be a well-orchestrated plan that had been laid in front him. He knew that ultimately he couldn't trust the Nine-tails, but for now the demon's aid was invaluable.

Back at the recently demolished Fox Den, several Taki nin arrived at the scene investigating the disturbing chakra wave they felt several kilometers away. They looked around at the destroyed area in search of any clue about what happened. The leader of the group finally spoke up, "My father needs to hear about this…one of the other nations must have been using this area as a command post to spy on Taki…" Several of the Jounin present nodded at their leader. One of the Jounin rushed over to the group, "What do you think happened here, Shibuki-sama?"

The leader known as Shibuki who appeared to be a very young man shrugged in modest confusion, "I don't know, but I noticed that this place is covered in ashes…whatever happened here, somebody must have destroyed it." Another Jounin joined the conversation with vigorous curiosity, "How could something have been here? Our scouts patrol this area regularly…somebody must have found it. So I suppose whoever was here torched the place and ran."

Several nods of agreement went throughout the group. Shibuki sighed as he looked over the scene once again, "You men secure the perimeter and keep stray passers away from the site. I'm going to report this situation to my father…maybe he knows what this is all about." The man known as Shibuki headed back to Taki with a grim look on his face, 'One of the other nations must be after the seven-tails…if that's the case then Fū is in danger. I'll have to assign guards to watch her in case anything happens.'

Unknown to all present, a freakish figure was watching them silently tear apart the scene. His face was divided down the middle one side black and the other white. A strange plant maw covered most of his head. It slightly opened and the figure began to talk to itself, "So the fox had a barrier…no wonder Itachi lost his trail." The figure had been present when Naruto escaped, but was ordered by Tobi to spy only. The figure began to speak to itself once again, "Tobi-sama must be informed…the fox is more cunning than we could imagine." The figure silently melted into the tree it was on and disappeared.

Morning graced Konoha once again as a raven haired Uchiha made his way to the Hokage's office. He knew Tsunade would likely be defensive, but he had to know. As he walked through the door to the building he made his way past a rather sluttish looking secretary. She called out to him, "Sasuke-kun you're not allowed to see the Hokage unless you have an appointment." He merely looked at her for a moment and continued on his way completely disregarding her comment.

"Wait! You're not allowed to…" Sasuke turned around glared at the woman full of killing intent, "I suggest you sit down and let it be." The woman looked as if she was about to cry as he continued upstairs to the Hokage's office ignoring everyone who acknowledged his presence. He finally reached the door and began to knock slowly.

"Come in!" a loud familiar voice rang as he opened the door casually and closed it behind him. "Ah, Sasuke…is there something you needed? As you can see I'm busy with mountains of paperwork and have a meeting with Suna later this afternoon, so make it quick." The Uchiha nodded as he bluntly stated, "I want the truth…no watered down bullshit stories you give to the rest of the village."

Tsunade stood up with a fierce look on her face rather appalled by Sasuke's demand, "You are in no position to make demands of me Sasuke, but I'll humor you for the moment. What are you asking about?" The raven haired genin stared at her silently for a moment meeting her gaze in a dangerous staring contest. "Tell me the truth about the Uzumaki Clan…are they really related to the Senju?"

Tsunade was caught completely off guard by Sasuke's question, "How do you know about that? What did you find in Naruto's apartment?" Sasuke's face remained stoic as he answered, "It doesn't matter, I just want the truth." Seeing no way to salvage the situation, Tsuande finally sighed in defeat, "Yes they were our sister clan from Uzushiogakure. I am a descendant of both clans, my grandfather was the Shodai Hokage and my grandmother was Mito Uzumaki, who was the leader of the Uzumaki clan."

Sasuke nodded at her answer and continued his interrogation as one could call it, "So that would mean that you are a distant relative of Naruto. Who were his parents Tsunade?" the Hokage couldn't believe that Sasuke was prying well guarded secrets of Konoha from her directly. 'I can't tell him…but then again I can't not tell him. Otherwise he'll say the wrong thing to the wrong people.'

"Who else have you told this to Sasuke?" Tsunade asked with a furious look on her face. "Nobody…Hokage-sama, I just want clues as to why Naruto left the village." The Hokage sighed in relief as she sat back down in her chair she turned away from him and looked out the window for a moment, "What makes you think he left Sasuke?" The Uchiha walked over to her and placed the book on her desk. The Hokage stared at the name of the book in disbelief, "Rikudo Sennin…"

Sasuke remained silent as she flipped through the book briefly examining it, "This is the original copy for Konoha…you're telling me you found this in Naruto's apartment?" Sasuke nodded as the Hokage stood up and faced him again. "Sasuke…I'm going to trust you with one of the biggest secrets in Konoha. You are forbidden to reveal this information to anybody or I'll kill you…do you understand?"

He bowed his head respectfully, much to the Hokage's surprise. She sighed as she began, "The only reason I'm telling you is because you know too much already, and I would rather you know the truth now instead of later. Also consider it a favor for bringing this to me…you see Naruto is a Jinchuuriki, Sasuke…" The raven haired Uchiha cocked his head raising an eyebrow, "I haven't heard much about them Tsunade-sama…but I do know that they contain biju within them."

The hokage nodded in response to Sasuke, "Yes, Naruto contains the Nine Tailed Fox within him." Sasuke's eyes shot open in horror, "So that red chakra…it was the Kyuubi's?" Sasuke sighed as he sat down in a nearby chair placing his hands over his head before continuing, "then that red chakra, that can only mean one thing…that the fox is subtly influencing Naruto?"

The Uchiha remembered parts of their fight as he thought aloud, "Naruto's eyes turned red, his body was covered in red chakra and I saw what looked like a tail. How did I not see it before?" Tsunade sat down across from him and she folded her arms narrowing her gaze, "Yes…it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case. The fourth hokage sealed the fox within Naruto after it attacked the village fourteen years ago, but Naruto wasn't its first container…The other two were also part of the Uzumaki clan. My grandmother Mito Uzumaki, and Naruto's mother…Kushina."

Sasuke looked confused at her comment, "Kushina? Who's that? She was Naruto's mother?" Tsunade quietly answered, "Kushina was the fourth Hokage's wife Sasuke..." Sasuke gasped as the truth unraveled in his head, "So he's the fourth hokage's son?" She nodded. Sasuke felt like he was about to throw up. He felt his stomach turn at the thought of how Konoha had mistreated the boy who was the son of their greatest hero. "So that's why everybody hated him?" Tsunade's held her face down staring at her desk as tears began to fall.

"You know the truth now Sasuke… please don't hate him for it; he worked so hard for this village and received nothing short of scorn and mockery in return." The Uchiha held his head down feeling the contagious depression hit him, "I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama, I just wanted to know the truth…" Her eyes met his briefly before he looked down trying to contain his emotions. "He's all I have left in this world Sasuke…" The Uchiha nodded as he replied, "He taught me that there was more to my life other than revenge against my brother…he was a worthy rival and a good friend."

Tsunade sadly smiled at the thought of Sasuke still showing loyalty to his friend. "I'm glad you see it that way Sasuke…he's a good person." Sasuke nodded as he stared at the book sitting in front of the Hokage, "I think you should read that book Tsunade-sama. It talks a lot about the godlike hero that was the Rikudo Sennin…he must have drawn inspiration from it."

She raised a confused glance at him as he elaborated, "I think I know why he left…now that I know about the fox it all makes sense now." Tsunade stared at him awaiting for the unveiling of his answer, "After he defeated me in the Valley of the End, he carried me back to Konoha…what I didn't tell anybody is that I was awake some parts of his return trip and remember some of the things he said to me. He believed me to be unconscious the entire trip."

Sasuke took a deep breath as Tsunade was leaning over the edge of her seat waiting for him to finish, "Naruto told me that he was angry at Konoha…angry at his family…angry at me." Tsunade looked horrified at this information, "Angry at Konoha? That seems so unlike him."

Sasuke continued dreading her reaction at the rest of his information, "He started spouting off about how he hated war and fighting. He said he was tired of the disrespect he received even from his closest friends…and the last part he made claims about how he was going to change the world…he sounded just like Itachi used to."

Tsunade practically face-vaulted at the information Sasuke had revealed to her. She stared at him trying to say something but the words never came. Finally Sasuke spoke, "I don't know what that means to you Tsunade, but I just thought you should know. She gave Sasuke an angry glare before giving him the motion to leave her office. She glanced at the paperwork on her desk once again and ignored it. As Sasuke left she turned around and stared out the window once again, "Naruto…why wasn't I there for you? Wherever you are…I just hope you're okay." A thought crossed her nostalgic mind as she sulked for a few minutes, 'Today's a good day for ramen.'

Our favorite golden-orange haired Jinchuuriki once again saw the familiar bridge to Wave Country named after him. He thought about the bridge as he crossed it slowly, and the battle that had once been waged for it. Then the image of a pretty girl in a green outfit crossed his mind, 'Haku…' he thought more about the battle with Haku and Zabuza and decided to visit their graves marked past the end of the Bridge. Despite it being night time, Naruto found the lack of people around somewhat peculiar. The teenager knelt at the graves and whispered softly, "I'm sorry you two had to die so senselessly…I hope you found peace in death."

A sick and twisted laugh began to echo in his mind. "**My name is Naruto, I'm a whiny pussy who can't handle death." **The fox mocked. 'Fuck off Kyuubi…they didn't deserve their fate. They were the heroes in the end…'The kitsune's laughter finally died down after laughing at his own joke for a few minutes. A thought crossed Naruto's mind as he looked at the graves again, 'I could bring them back…they deserve a second chance…" Naruto felt the familiar stinging feeling in his eyes as he continued to stare at the graves. He looked deeper past the surface of the ground and saw the faint outline of two bodies and small chakra imprints still flowing through their deceased bodies.

The Rinnegan began to glow deeper as Naruto's vision began to swirl. He held out both of his hands and chakra visibly poured through the ground into their bodies. The ground tore open as the two bodies floated from their graves covered in visible blue chakra. The glow around their bodies turned their figures pure white for a moment before they were placed on the ground. Naruto watched his handiwork as the wounds on the two began to heal and color returned once more to their faces.

After a few moments their eyes opened simultaneously. **"You fool…you can only do that to four more people for the rest of your life. I'd have used it on somebody far more valuable than these two."**

Zabuza looked around for a moment trying to find out where he was…last thing he remembered was dying slowly on a bridge and then…he looked to the graves right next to him and Haku. Haku looked at him for a moment with an equally shocked face. "Zabuza-sama, where are we?" she questioned. He shrugged for a moment until he noticed a black-clothed figure standing over him. (I know I didn't mention Naruto changing outfits, but who honestly cares? Just imagine him in whatever black outfit you would like…imagination goes further than whatever explanation I'd give you; and no he's not wearing an Akatsuki robe…because I know somebody is going to ask that.)

He looked at the figure for a moment trying to make out his face until he noticed the eyes…the silvery purple eyes with rings that glowed as bright as the moon itself. Zabuza stared at the figure in disbelief, "The Rinnegan…" Haku also stared at the mysterious figure as he leaned over to them getting closer. Haku saw the whisker marks that covered his face and knew immediately who it was, "Naruto-kun…"

Zabuza tensed at the name, "You're the kid who defeated us on the bridge…you had the Rinnegan?" Naruto broke the silence as the two uneasily sat up, "Yes, you two both died over two years ago…I brought you back." The pair stared at Naruto in utter disbelief. Zabuza stood up and questioned him, "Why would you bring us back? And for that matter how?"

Naruto ignored his question as he gave them an ultimatum, "You have two choices the way I see it…one you can go on living the way you were before and die in some equally pointless way, or you can join my cause." Haku stared at Zabuza for a minute trying to understand his thought process, "What is your cause Naruto-kun?" she questioned curiously. The jinchuuriki smiled at the pair as he replied, "To overthrow the Kages and establish world domination. "

Zabuza could barely contain his joy as a smile washed over his face, "I had the same dream when I was younger…the council of Kirigakure had grown corrupt. After my friend Kisame killed the Daimyo of Kiri, I decided to leave as well. It would bring me no honor greater than to serve your cause Naruto-sama!" the former Demon of the Mist exclaimed. He bowed to Naruto and Haku followed in turn. Naruto turned to Haku for her response. "Her opinion matters as well Zabuza…what say you Haku-chan?"

The ice-princess smiled at him and hugged him much to his and Zabuza's surprise. "I knew you were special from the day I met you. I will forever follow you Naruto-sama." The two missing nin then stared at their leader who was much different than they remembered. 'His hair is orange and he is much taller than he was before. He has a Rinnegan too…I can't even imagine how powerful that must make him. This must be some kind of divine miracle.' Zabuza thought.

Meanwhile Haku's mind was heading in a different direction, 'He's…beautiful, like a lost prince come to save his kingdom…he'll need a princess though.' After a few moments of mind wandering Naruto broke the silence and explained the situation to them, "I'm a fugitive of Konoha, probably near the top five or so on Konoha's bingo book, so if you two could try and avoid using my name publicly, that would help."

They nodded briefly before a frown crossed Haku's face, "What should we call you?" Naruto wondered that himself for a moment as he stared at the two. Finally, he came up with an answer, "Call me Pein." The pair nodded as Naruto began to explain his current objective, "I'm on my way to the ruins of Uzushiogakure to find the remnants of my clan. You two are covered in dirt and blood, so I suggest you clean up and find your gear. Do so quickly, then you are to meet me at the northern end of the island after you're finished."

They nodded as Naruto headed off through the town. Zabuza felt the invincible feelings inside him wane as Naruto got further away from him. Finally he turned to Haku and the two had smiles on their faces, "Can you believe it? I finally found something worth doing in life…with him leading this cause we'll be unstoppable!" Zabuza cheered as if he had never been happier. Haku found his good mood refreshing and took the opportunity to ask him, "Do you know about the Rinnegan, Zabuza-sama?"

The man nodded his head, "Yes, I have heard of the Rinnegan., and what it is capable of." Haku raised an eyebrow at him and queried, "What is it exactly?" Zabuza laughed as he and Haku began to gather some of their old equipment from their graves. "It's a doujutsu that belonged to the first ninja, and is said to be insanely powerful."

Haku continued, "Do go on…" Zabuza chuckled as he picked up his sword and his mask. He handed Haku her hunter mask as well. Zabuza gave Haku a guilty look as she stared into his eyes. Finally, he spoke his mind, "I'm sorry for everything that's happened to us Haku…I promise you I won't let anything happen to you again." Haku stared shocked at her father like figure for a few minutes before finally hugging him. "All if forgiven, things will be better now." Zabuza returned her hug and proceeded to briefly explain the origins of the Rinnegan to Haku as the two wandered into town.

Naruto walked through the town hoping to see some familiar faces, but unfortunately for him the town seemed empty. 'Something is wrong here…not a single villager yet. I know it's night time but still it seems too convenient.' His paranoia seemed to prove accurate as he walked over to the home of Tazuna and upon a quick inspection noticed it was empty. **"I never liked him anyways, all self-righteous and what not."**

'Shut up fox.' Naruto tuned out Kyuubi's commentary as he started to think about what could have happened. **"HEY! Are you listening to me kit? You'll most likely find them at your destination…this is some kind of trap if you haven't noticed by now."**

'Obviously, I realized that Kyuubi. That must mean somebody knew I'd come here…and that leads me to think they took the villagers hostage.' The Nine tails grunted in response, **"Funny thing about traps is they are all double-edged swords…maybe those two fools you brought back might be of use after all. This is a good opportunity to find out who these assassins are."**

Naruto groaned in disappointment knowing nothing was ever that simple, 'Somehow I doubt they are assassins…'

OK that was chapter 4 for you guys. I made it longer than the others because I couldn't figure a good place to end it. Before I get any complaints about personalities being off (Itachi, Zabuza, whatever) I just want to say get over it…that's how they'll be for this story. I have this distinct feeling I'll get complaints about the changes to the paths of pain, but again…get over it. I tried to make everything as accurate as possible in regards to the actual show, so try not to get upset if I changed a few things to work better for the story. Anyways, I'm sure most of you have noticed who some of the lucky harem girls will be. I can't promise many from Konoha, but fear not for there will be girls…and lemons in later chapters. Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter, "My name is Pein."


	5. Chapter 5

Well it took a while, but here's chapter 5. For those of you who reviewed I appreciate it. Feedback always gives me good motivation…even if it's bad. However, that doesn't seem to be the case so far. Anyways, chapter 5 will be hot fun in the sun for those of you who 3 smuv criminals.

**Chapter 5: "My Name is Pein"**

Deep inside the Temple of Whirling Tides a large group of hostages were all tied up along the circular walls of the grand dome room. Large cries of panic and anger erupted amongst the crowd of people as two individuals walked into the room wearing black cloaks adorned with red clouds. The pair walked around the circular room examining their captured bait. "It took me over two hours to tie all of these people up…this kid better be here soon," Kisame complained as he looked around the room annoyed.

"So Itachi-sama, you really think this will work?" the fierce-looking shark nin asked his superior. Itachi looked around with a bored look on his face, "Well if our informant from Konoha is correct, the nine-tail's jinchuuriki is compassionate about protecting people, and I believe he would blindly rush in trying to save hostages." Kisame nodded at Itachi's response before asking, "Who is this informant of yours?" Itachi had a slight smirk on his face as he looked over to Kisame, "You'll never guess this right, so I'll spare you the trouble…" Kisame had an eager look of anticipation waiting for Itachi to say the name. "I won't mention it in front of all these people, so ask me later." Kisame started laughing, "Wow…the suspense is killing me…how have these idiots in Konoha not found the informant yet?"

Itachi shrugged as he lost interest in the conversation. A young boy glaring at Kisame with intensity shouted loudly, "Don't talk about Konoha nin like that! They are welcomed heroes around here and can kick your butts!" He stopped in front of the boy and stared him down.

"So boy, you think you're some kind of tough guy eh?" Kisame laughed as he towered over the child with a twisted smile. "My name is Inari, and I'm not afraid of nothing or nobody!" the boy's resolve attracted the attention of all present around him. Itachi turned around and stood next to Kisame with a slight frown on his face. "You have so much to learn about the world kid…you're parents should have taught you rule number one about a hostage situation: Don't be a hero." Kisame then backhanded the boy with enough force to send him into the wall.

Inari hit the wall and lost consciousness as blood poured from his swollen mouth. Gasps of horror and shock filled the room once again as Kisame began to laugh. Itachi rolled his eyes with an uninterested look on his face. "How dare you do that to my grandson! I know people who can bring you to justice you monsters!" a man shouted from a short distance away. Kisame's grin broke into a dazzling chuckle as he took his sword off his back.

"No Kisame, ignore them. These people are feeble and weak, and their empty threats only veil their fear. Back to the matter at hand, when the nine-tails arrives, you will need to drain its chakra while I subdue it with my Sharingan."

Kisame reequipped his sword as he shook his head, "He's only a genin, Itachi-sama…I doubt it'll be that hard to bring him down." Itachi's face lit up in frustration as he glared at Kisame, "Tobi told us not to mess up the plan. Our underestimating him was the problem to begin with Kisame…Tobi says that it will be near impossible to defeat the nine tails without him if it has a full transformation." Kisame met Itachi's glare with a shrug, "I doubt that we'll reach that point. All we gotta do is knock the kid out in some genjutsu, drain his chakra, and haul him back to the meeting point."

Itachi held his head dejectedly as he sighed, "At any rate, the hostages will eventually lure him here, and we can apprehend him then." Kisame nodded once again halfway tuning out Itachi as he examined the temple. "So Itachi-sama…you said he's the last member of this clan?" The Uchiha glanced around for a moment admiring the unique architecture, as he focused on the statue of a woman on the far wall. "Yes, it would seem so…I wouldn't doubt if he came here seeking his clan seal. Its origins are a mystery to even myself, but I heard that one must possess the bloodline to acquire it."

Tazuna sat quietly listening to the conversation of his captors. 'The only clan that ever existed here was the Uzumaki…but who could they be talking about?' he wondered as he searched his memory for clues. Suddenly a flashback hit him as he remembered a certain blonde haired kid, 'Naruto, I can't believe I didn't realize he was a remanant of the clan. I wonder if these two are trying to capture Naruto or somebody else though.' As if he read Tazuna's mind, Kisame wandered over to Tazuna with another grin.

"So, it looks like we have an eavesdropper over here Itachi-sama. How would you like to go for a swim old man?" Kisame practically giggled as horror swept through the large crowd of individuals. Suddenly a woman spoke up in a pleading tone, "We are simple people. Most of us here are fishermen, farmers, or carpenters, and we don't want anything to do with your shinobi politics or wars." Itachi walked to the woman's location with a massacre written on his face, "Everything you believe is a mockery of the truth. Safety is a lie, peace is an illusion, and hatred is eternal. As the seeds of corruption grow in the hearts of all people, wars shall always erupt in a never ending cycle of damnation."

The woman had a terrified look on her face as Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, "Look into my eyes and see the truth." The woman began to scream in pure terror as visions raced through her mind. "What are you doing to my daughter, Tsunami, you sick fuck?" Tazuna roared in rage before getting knocked down by Kisame. The woman finally fell over practically half-dead(keyword HALF-DEAD…she didn't die) as Itachi's eyes went back to normal. "So much for ignoring them eh Itachi-sama…shit, and you think I'm being too hard on them. That could qualify as torture." Kisame laughed as he and Itachi began to walk to the center of the room. Tazuna began to shout angrily at them, "You'll pay for this I swear…my daughter didn't deserve that!"

Itachi simply disregarded the man as he said, "People like her are poison to their own societies. Encouraging weakness among each other only makes them more susceptible to violence and war. These people don't understand that strong nations don't care if they are weak civilians, they will trample those who are too weak to protect themselves."

Kisame nodded at Itachi's logic, "Yeah, I suppose that's true in the long run. Those too weak to protect themselves shouldn't be around those who can. None of them understand the measures that are acceptable in war." The people present were all cowering with their faces down not daring to look up at the two. "So Itachi-sama, which one of the hostages is going to be the first sacrifice?" The Uchiha looked around with a disgusted look on his face, "No point in making martyrs out of any of them…I would prefer not to kill these people. Maybe this experience will make them stronger." Kisame gave the Uchiha a strange look, "You're too good for your own good Itachi-sama…" Suddenly a loud noise came from outside and drew the attention of all present.

A large explosion blew the door open to the temple and a lone figure walked in. Kisame shot his gaze over to the commotion in excitement and looked upon the figure for a moment. Due to the darkness of the night he could only make out the shadowy outline of a spiky-haired individual. Itachi was staring at the figure as well. Suddenly the figure began to open its eyes as a silvery glow outlined in purple shot out of them. Kisame's jaw nearly hit the floor as he gasped in disbelief at the teenager walking into the room.

The cold dark gaze of his eyes made Kisame feel uneasy as he looked over to Itachi for some kind of explanation. The Uchiha himself simply stared at the young man in complete shock, "The Rinnegan…Kisame why did you insist on jinxing us with this?" The shark nin merely hung his jaw open as the figure walked closer to the two, "Fuck my life…"

"So, you two were clearly interested in finding me…might I ask why? Are you assassins perhaps or do you want to capture me?" Naruto asked as he stood across from the two Akatsuki nin in the center of the room. Itachi spoke up, "We have been tracking you ever since you left Konoha, and have every intention of capturing you."

Naruto glanced at the figure which strongly resembled Sasuke. The orange-haired nin smiled as he retorted, "So you must be Itachi…Sasuke's brother. Am I right? And you are?" He looked over to the shark nin as well expecting some kind of introduction. Kisame frowned as he looked over to Itachi waiting for a que to attack. "I am Kisame a former swordsman of the mist." The Uchiha made a quick glance in his direction and he nodded. Kisame suddenly unwrapped his sword as he began to circle Naruto slowly. Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan activated soon after and he glared into Naruto's eyes. The young man found himself enveloped in an ocean of kunai slashing, stabbing, and cutting him as blood rained upon him.

A large pair of red pin-wheel eyes was all he could see as he looked up in a desperate attempt to identify where he was. His eyes began to sting painfully as he flew out of the kunai with red chakra surrounding him. Itachi's form came into focus as he attempted to subdue Naruto. Then the ocean of blades turned into fire that burned over his body. However, the fire soon changed into red chakra as the form of a fox attacked Itachi. He found himself locked in a prison of chakra as Naruto's vision began to glow brighter and bring him back to his senses as broke the vision Itachi had placed him in.

Naruto broke free of Itachi's Sharinagan and barely avoided the force of a large sword smashing down in front of him. "He broke free Kisame," Itachi stated as the shark nin began to swing his sword in a flurry attempting to hit the Rinnegan wielder. "Yeah no shit…" Kisame replied irritated. All hell brok lose as Kisame began assault as the jinchuuriki in a death match. The orange haired nin drew his kunai.

The Uchiha watched Kisame and Naruto fight with an interest. The jinchuuriki moved with incredible speed parrying and dodging all of the former mist nin's attacks. "How the fuck is this guy so fast?" Kisame yelled as rage coursed through him. Kisame began to take things more seriously as he went through handseals, "Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!" (Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave) suddenly a large wave of water erupted from Kisame's mouth as he blasted the room full of water.

Naruto laughed as he went through a series of handseals, "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique) suddenly a large dragon formed out of the water Kisame had created. It began to trash about in the temple attacked Kisame with great speed. The former mist nin fought it back and dodged most of its attacks before absorbing it into his sword.

The shark nin laughed as it blasted back from his sword and blew Naruto along with half of the temple out of the out with it. Kisame rode the crashing wave of water down to strike once again. Naruto quickly regained his composure as he dodged Kisame's overhead smash. The former mist nin began to swing his sword in a whirlwind and water started to gather around him. The vortex of water surrounded the two making Kisame laugh, "Try and escape now kid! Samehada hungers for your chakra!" Itachi watched intently as Kisame began to unleash one of his aces.

Naruto panted as he avoided the relentless flurry of Kisame's sword. The shark-nin's super human strength made it tiresome to counterattack his blows. A large vortex of water began to go faster and grow smaller. Naruto circled Kisame as the area they were in began to shrink then, limiting his room to dodge Kisame's attacks. Kisame laughed as water began to imprison them, "Suiton: Goshuku Zame!" (Five Man Eating Sharks). Suddenly Naruto felt the water's pressure suck him down as five large sharks made of chakra began to swim at him.

He growled as his eyes once again burned in pain. He held up his hand, "Shinra Tensei!" The sharks collided with an unseen shield and were repelled away by an invisible blast much to Kisame's surprise. Naruto shot out of the water like a bullet and felt the familiar red chakra envelop him as he stood at the water's surface facing Kisame and Itachi.

The remaining front entrance of the temple was demolished, allowing some of the villagers to escape and free each other. Several tried to catch a glance at the fight, but only saw an ominous red glow beginning to radiate through a dense fog that had just appeared. The water began to freeze suddenly confusing Kisame greatly as he noticed two figures standing next to Naruto upon the misty ice-covered surface. The shark nin halted his assault upon this sight and had a grim look on his face, "Uh Itachi-sama, apparently this guy has friends." The Uchiha tried to identify the two rescuers and noticed a slashed mist headband on one and a hunter-nin mask on the other. He glaced over at Kisame assuming the former mist nin knew their identities.

Kisame took a closer look at the two newcomers with a surprised laugh, "Zabuza…it can't be; I thought you were dead!" The masked swordsman simply leered at him as he drew his blade and faced Kisame, "Normally I'd be happy to see you, but I can't allow you to harm my master!" Kisame frowned in disapproval, "Your master? You would disregard all those years we spent killing together for this kid?" Zabuza laughed as he drew his sword, "We don't play for the same team anymore…Haku and I serve our lord, Pein, now." Kisame's face broke into a scowl, "You always did like doing things the hard way…I figured one day I would eventually kill you."

"Zabuza, Haku, you two deal with Kisame; Itachi is mine!" Naruto roared as the two nin began to assault Kisame mercilessly. Itachi and Naruto stared each other down once again as Kisame began to duel Zabuza in a fencing display of power and speed. The mighty blades crashed into each other creating monstrous chakra spikes as water, ice and earth exploded everywhere. Suddenly Haku began to freeze the area around Kisame rooting his feet in place allowing Zabuza the upper hand to knock him off balance. Kisame began to go through several handseals, "Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!" Water erupted from his mouth once again and it blasted at Zabuza but was immediately frozen.

Mirrors of ice surrounded the two and senbon needles rained into Kisame's back as he parried Zabuza's overpowering swing. 'Shit I can't take him as long as that bitch is freezing all of my water attacks and shooting me in the back!' Kisame thought as he glanced around at the icy mirrors. He tried to smash one but his sword was deflected by Zabuza's. Ice needles shot out of the mirrors from all angles at Kisame once again. He made a quick counterattack to block them but felt Zabuza's sword slash his back. The shark nin's body dissipated into a water clone as the real Kisame whirled his blade around smashing several of the ice mirrors. Ice froze his entire body in place as he landed. Zabuza took the opportunity to continue his assault, leaving Kisame defenseless against the overhead cleave that cut down his chest. He channeled the chakra from his sword quickly trying to regenerate as he glanced over to Itachi's battle. The Uchiha had apissed look on his face as his Sharingan activated once again.

"Since you are too much trouble to defeat by any physical means…let's see how you deal with this!" Itachi snapped. Black flames suddenly erupted around Naruto constricting him in agonizing heat. He fell to his knees as the flames began to burn hotter. "Amaterasu, is more than sufficient to defeat you," Itachi stated with a dead serious look on his face. The ice around him instantly melted and he fell underwater. The black flames suppressed Naruto and his chakra as they continued to burn him into submission. He tried to hold his breath as he sank deeper into the water.

"**The burning agony feels good doesn't it? Turn your pain into rage!" **the Kyuubi roared with thundering anger in Naruto's mind as he felt a surge of adrenaline flow through him, 'The pain…it's unbearable. I don't think I can last much longer.'

"**Release all of your power from your Chakra points now! Feel your power within…unleash it with mine and dispel these flames!" **Naruto began to focus on his chakra points which still suppressed most of his power. The jinchuuriki's vision began to go black as a supernova of chakra exploded from his body, "Shinra Tensei!" the force of the attack exploded violently consuming the black flames and causing a massive tsunami of water to blast out of the water as Naruto flew out of it blasting Itachi and the others back in the process. (Naruto going super saiyan? Lol JK) Kisame, Zabuza, and Haku halted their fight as they witnessed two chakra wings emerge from Naruto's back. He flew high into the air and a slit formed in his Rinnegan eyes as they began to glow red. "**Use your power to annihilate everything! Let my chakra feed your rage!" **Itachi and Kisame looked up in awe as Naruto began to channel his chakra. Suddenly Zabuza and Haku were covered in red chakra as well.

Kisame had a look on his face that resembled a deer caught in the headlights as Zabuza smashed his sword into Kisame sending him flying away with a large hole through his chest. The two nin turned their attention back skyward. Haku and Zabuza only stared at their leader as they felt his power surge. A strange echo was heard in Naruto's mind, '_Chibaku Tensei…show them the true power of the Rinnegan_.' The jinchuuriki obeyed the voice without question much to Kyuubi's confusion, "Chibaku Tensei!" (Planetary Devastation/Heavenly body bursting from the earth)

"**What are you doing! How do you know about that jutsu?" **Kyuubi roared in Naruto's mind. The teenager glared at Itachi and Kisame with killer intent. Suddenly everything began to rise from the ground ripping the landscape apart. Water, earth and ice began to float towards Naruto forming into a large ball. Pieces of the half demolished temple rose as well. Kisame gave Itachi a desperate look as he got up and back away from Zabuza and Haku. The four missing nin felt themselves being sucked into the the massive ball. They jumped down fast trying to escape it. "We are not equipped to take this guy down Itachi-sama…I say we get the hell out of here."

The Uchiha only nodded in shock as he and Kisame began to fear the large ball forming in the sky. The two began to run at inhuman speed away from the scene, but Naruto channeled his jutsu harder trying to suck them back in. Painful rage burned in his blood as the ball began to grow. Haku and Zabuza were beginning to get higher and higher as well much to their shock. Finally he was stopped by Haku, "No Naruto-kun, it's over; let them go for now. You're going to kill us!" He looked at her face for a moment and sighed in relief as he felt his anger and his chakra slowly retreat allowing two figures to escape into the distance. He finally released the jutsu causing earth and water to rain down upon the devastated remnants of the battlefield. He soon returned to normal as he landed and was embraced into a hug by Haku, "You had me worried Naruto-kun…"

"**How…I don't understand how you did that. ANSWER ME NOW!" **Naruto tuned the fox out as he focused his attention to his followers. Zabuza let out a breath he had been holding as the rest of the Naruto's jutsu finished raining down. Zabuza thought to himself about how powerful he felt when he was with Naruto. 'When he turned red…I felt all of my chakra replenish, despite it mostly being drained by Kisame's sword. And what the fuck was that shit he just did? Damn, with him leading us we can rule the world!' Zabuza thought as he stared at his leader.

Naruto finally regained his normal demeanor as he sat down against a large rock. "So what did those guys want with me?" he asked as he looked over to Zabuza. The masked swordsman thought for a moment, "You know I've heard of those two before Naruto-sama…they're part of a terrorist organization known as Akatsuki." Naruto glanced over at Zabuza with a questioning look, "Akatsuki eh? Well I suggest we avoid them in the future. They all nodded in unison.

Haku glanced at Naruto for a moment and sighed, "These villagers are going report this to Konoha…maybe it would be a good idea to wear a mask Naruto-kun." Thankfully for him, none of the villagers could make out his face in the dark temple earlier. He glanced over at the masked girl and nodded before focusing his attention to Zabuza. The masked swordsman looked at him for a minute before he sighed, "I think I have a spare black mask, I suppose it would be a good idea to cover up your face." He began to sort through his personal belongings in a recently acquired pack and pulled out a mask similar to Kakashi's (Don't laugh at my Cliché mask).

"Here you go Naruto-sama; excellent thinking by the way, Haku." The girl nodded as she watched Naruto put on his mask. He laughed to himself at the thought of resembling his old sensei. "Yeah good idea Haku-chan, it'll cover up my whisker marks which will completely shroud my identity from them. Since I have a different hair color and eyes now, they won't notice." Zabuza looked around for a moment lost in thought, "Maybe we should get out of here before a platoon of Anbu show up and force us to butcher them." Naruto frowned for a moment as he looked at Zabuza, "I still need my clan seal in that temple. Supposedly the scroll on how to do it is locked away in its main vault." Unanimous agreement echoed as they began to make their way back into the temple. Looks of distress and terror marked the faces of the villagers who noticed the trio emerging from the mist.

They made their way back inside the half demolished temple avoiding looks they received from the terrified villagers. One man looked at Zabuza and almost started to cry, "BY THE GODS! THE DEMON OF THE MIST HAS RETURNED!" Zabuza shot the man a death glare making him back away swiftly. Naruto looked around at the people who all were staring at him. Many of them were cowering when he made eye contact. He looked around at the mostly freed villagers and spoke in deadly tone, "I suggest all of you leave before you die."

Zabuza began to laugh as he chimed in, "Bow before Pein and the Demon of the Mist!" Many villagers present began to run away in fear as Haku let out a brief sigh at Zabuza's over the top ego. Naruto felt a small smile come to his face at the mention of his false name. As the remaining villagers all fled the temple, Naruto glanced at a statue of a woman. He walked closer to it and read the name on it, "Mito Uzumaki." He looked at the statue for a moment trying to identify who the woman was. He finally sighed as he walked away from it and down a hallway followed on each side by Zabuza and Haku.

Naruto at last came to a dark corridor leading downstairs into a dark room. He picked up a torch on a nearby wall and set in on fire as they wandered further in. At the very back of the room Naruto found a large chest with a super complicated lock on it. He handed the torch to Haku who held it over for him. He read the inscription, "To open the chest, a true member must channel his chakra through the lock." The jinchuuriki laughed quietly about how simple something such as this would be. 'Guess they figured nobody in the clan had any mind to steal it anyways,' he thought as he began to open the chest. The locks undid themselves as his chakra flowed over the chest for several minutes. Finally the chest opened and Naruto began to examine its contents.

Haku and Zabuza quietly watched him go through the several scrolls inside the chest as he searched for his clan seal. He found it after a few minutes and read the instructions, 'To place the clan seal on a member, one must first have a large chakra pool and have the clan bloodline to ensure survival otherwise the seal is fatal.' He laughed to himself at the thought of somebody like Orochimaru finding this and killing himself accidently. 'Speaking of which…I still need to kill him at some point.' The teen's mind side-tracked for a moment before he continued reading, 'The clan seal allows the user to weave chakra and temporarily augment their weapons of even bodies with it. The seal amplifies all elemental jutsu. To acquire the seal one must unleash their chakra in the heart of the maelstrom outside of the temple. To prove one's worth, he or she must overpower nature itself. If they are deemed worthy the gods shall bless them with the Uzumaki Seal of Ascendance.' Below the instructions listed the names of every clan member to acquire the seal. Only fifty names were on it. 'No wonder nobody has heard of this seal.'

Naruto sighed as he reread the scroll before he finally placed it back inside the chest. He continued to search it for anything of value, and he finally found something very interesting. He pulled it out of the chest and stared at it. "An Uzushiogakure Hitae-ite…"(Whirlpool village headband…or something close to that) Naruto tied the forehead protector around his head and turned to his two followers. They both gave him an approving nod. He smiled underneath his mask before he spoke, "Guys, I am going for a swim." The two missing nin focused their attention on their leader and followed him as he began to walk up the stairs outside of the temple's back entrance. They looked down and saw a huge whirlpool at the base of the cliff edge the temple was on. Haku took off her mask and gave a worried look to Naruto as he began to take his gear off and his shirt. "Don't tell me you actually intend to go into that?" she gasped as he walked to the edge of the cliff. Zabuza sat down and took a deep breath as he and Haku only saw the faint orange blur of their leader diving into the whirlpool. "He knows what he's doing Haku, he'll be okay." She gave him a concerned look before sitting down next to him, "I hope so…"

Meanwhile, Naruto had just landed in the freezing cold water and tried to get to the surface as his body spun out of control in the maelstrom. He focused his chakra into his feet and propelled himself upon the surface of the moving water and felt intense pressure as he attempted to walk to its center. Each step felt like it would suck him down to the sea floor. He slowly but surely made progress to the center, and upon finally reaching it he felt his entire body starting to crush from the force of the pressure. Haku and Zabuza saw an orange blur in the center from where they were and only gaped in wide wonder.

"That guy never ceases to amaze me…" Zabuza said as he intently watched the orange haired shinobi channel his chakra at the center of the maelstrom. Haku stared at him and felt her heart throb, "He's incredible…" Naruto almost lost himself in his concentration to keep his chakra controlled as he focused harder. More poured out of his body as he channeled all of it into the whirling tide. The water surrounding him began to merge with his chakra and then glowed in a blinding display of power.

Naruto got pulled down into the maelstrom of chakra and felt his entire body overcome by a strange tingling feeling. He felt the chakra in the water around him and began to alter its direction, reversing the flow of the whirlpool. After a full minute of rotating in its counter direction, the maelstrom was completely dissipated. Naruto emerged from it and ran up the cliff to meet his companions once more. They both looked at him in awe as they saw his skin glowing radiantly before finally returning to normal. "I got what I came for. Let's leave this place," the orange haired teen spoke as he put his gear back on. "Explain to me how that got you a clan seal?" Haku asked as she intently watched him reequip his gear. Naruto turned around and replied, "By mastering nature I created my own seal…this was some kind of test for all of the most powerful Uzumaki Clan members…I didn't realize that we must each create our own seals until I did that for myself.

Haku and Zabuza both looked over the edge of the cliff in shock that the whirlpool was gone. Zabuza looked at him for a moment as if he was about to say something but finally closed his mouth. Haku licked her lips as he motioned for them to follow him. 'He's so…powerful and in control all the time. Fuck is that hot. Oh the things I would do to you Naruto-kun…' Haku thought as the trio silently began to leave the temple. Zabuza glanced over at Haku for a moment and smirked as he noticed the look on her face. 'I bet she won't be the only woman who wants to have your kids,' Zabuza laughed to himself as he looked over at his leader.

Naruto heard the familiar growl in his mind as Kyuubi began to interrupt his thoughts, **"Despite your lack of resolve, you have been impressing me lately kit…I have no idea how you did that jutsu earlier…maybe you have no idea either, but at any rate…you might just earn my respect one day." **Naruto acknowledged Kyuubi's comment, 'Like you said, with your power and mine…I'll be a god." The demon fox laughed in Naruto's mind in a chorus of delight as they continued.

A long distance away in the forest two cloaked men sat against a tree and stared at the sky. "Itachi-sama…Explain to me how we just got our asses handed to us," Kisame whined as his body continued to regenerate from the wounds inflicted by Zabuza and Haku. The Uchiha simply stared at the moon lost in thought. Kisame continued to rant, "Those two friends of his died over two years ago, Itachi-sama…I saw their graves when we arrived at that village. Something wasn't right about that. Zabuza was one of my closest friends back when I was tight with the seven swordsmen of the mist. I had heard of the Rinnegan's power, but I never imagined it could do…that."

Itachi sulked in his depression as he responded to Kisame, "This is a worst case scenario far beyond anything I could have ever imagined. And now he probably has his clan seal too…we are not going to try fighting him again unless we have Madara-sama." Kisame nodded in agreement as he rested his head back against the tree trunk. "What was that jutsu he did that sucked everything in?" Itachi gazed into the distance as if he was half-asleep, "That was one of the Rikudo Sennin's most powerful jutsus…There's no way I'm going against that again. Of course it was on a smaller scale, but the fact of the matter is he can do it as well."

"How in the world did you not know he had the Rinnegan, Itachi-sama? Weren't you tracking him?" Itachi thought about the question for a moment, "No, Kyuubi's jinchuuriki is named Naruto. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks according to our informant. He might have recently developed it…maybe that's how he eluded us before." Kisame frowned, "You said his name was Naruto? They referred to him as Pein."

"We might as well call him that too," Itachi said. Kisame gave him a questioning look and asked, "Why should we do that?" The Uchiha relied, "For the sake of covering his tracks, and our own for when the Konoha Anbu come scouring this place two days from now. Silence passed for a few minutes before Itachi gave Kisame a brief glance and sighed, "I don't think Madara-sama will like to hear that the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki is a Rinnegan wielder who is the son of the fourth hokage and the last descendant of one of the most powerful clans ever known…"

Kisame had a sad look on his face, "I have this strange feeling that we're going to go through disciplinary punishment for this…" Itachi closed his eyes in distress at the thought of Madara making an example out of them in front of the rest of Akatsuki. "Well let's get this over with…call him now Itachi-sama," Kisame groaned as Itachi went through several handseals to alert their leader to show up.

A shadow teleported directly in front of them and was silent as the one red eye shined through the swirled orange mask. Madara looked at Itachi and Kisame quietly awaiting their report.

"Madara-sama…we couldn't apprehend the nine tails. There was a certain complication involved," Itachi began as the figure continued to stare at him, "We set a trap for him at the old temple in Wave, but we couldn't subdue him by any means…he broke free of my Mangekyo Sharingan and…well we had a large battle that resulted in his friends showing up and us getting out. We weren't trying to kill him but we got overwhelmed and had no choice but to retreat."

The masked man continued to silently gaze at Itachi and he took off his mask. His ethereal face gave the two nin a look with curious interest. Finally he spoke, "Broke free from your Sharingan…care to elaborate Itachi?" The younger Uchiha sighed as he held his head down in submission once again, "He has the Rinnegan…he outmaneuvered a lot of our techniques. After my Amaterasu failed to subdue him, he unleashed a surge of chakra and performed a Chibaku Tensei on us and we fled from him." Madara's eyes shot open and much to Itachi and Kisame's surprise he began to smile.

"It must have been…beautiful. You two fools are very lucky to be alive…he must have spared you if you were able to outrun that jutsu." Madara was grinning as if he was the happiest man on the planet. Itachi and Kisame traded confused glances as Madara began to pace excitedly, "I must meet him…what is his name?" Itachi answered swiftly, "His name is Pein."

Madara laughed to himself, "Pein? I can't wait to meet him." Kisame had a puzzled look on his face as Madara put his mask back on. "You two leave the Nine-tails alone for the time being…I have great plans for him. By the way, Zetsu also told me that this Pein used a demonic barrier to elude you two the first time…so I suppose your incompetence wasn't to blame for that. Your new orders are to report to base so we can have a meeting with the others. I'll have Zetsu keep an eye on Pein in the mean time and report any of his movements to me."

Kisame bluntly asked, "What plans could you possibly have for somebody like that Madara-sama?" The Uchiha looked at Kisame and practically giggled as he replied, "The nine tails sealed within a Rinnegan wielder…makes me excited just thinking about it…Eventually our paths will cross and this Pein will kneel before me…and with his power subjugated to my will the stagnant Shinobi nations shall tremble and fall as I become the herald to their annihilation and assume the throne of darkness!"

Madara disappeared after his speech leaving a disturbed pair of missing nin who stared at each other for a full minute. "Sometimes…I get this feeling that Madara-sama is slightly crazy," Kisame chuckled as Itachi began to frown. "I wouldn't doubt it if Pein kills him…" Kisame shot Itachi a surprised look. "I wouldn't go around saying things like that Itachi-sama…otherwise he might impale me with my own sword and…fuck I'd hate to think what he'd do to you. I think he has some homo-erotic fantasies about you."

Itachi laughed for the first time ever after Kisame finished his sentence. "Yeah, I would prefer if he kept that directed elsewhere. Besides I'm sure he's in love with Pein judging by how excited he was." Kisame began to laugh hysterically. The Uchiha had a smirk on his face at the thought of it. "Heh, well at any rate, let's go back to base," Itachi chuckled as the two began to set off once again. Kisame looked at Itachi for a moment and a familiar question popped into his mind, "Itachi-sama, you never told me the name of that informant from Konoha." The Uchiha thought for a moment and responded, "Oh yeah I guess I didn't…she is the best infiltrator I've ever seen." Kisame's interest soared as he asked, "Who is she?" Itachi looked at him and stopped walking for a moment and spoke, "She is the Hokage's secretary…Shizune I think her name was." Kisame sighed sadly, "I'm afraid I don't know her."

"Yeah, she is one of Madara-sama's agents…I didn't even know myself until I left Konoha something close to seven years ago. Although she was barely into her teens back then, she had keen skill for information gathering. Apparently it was good enough to impress Madara-sama." Itachi's statement sated Kisame's curiosity as the pair continued onward in silence.

In the peaceful city of Konoha a certain raven haired Uchiha was sitting at a ramen stand. Sasuke stared at his food as he had nostalgic flashbacks about his friend. 'This was his favorite place to eat…It's just not the same without him here. I guess I always took his friendship for granted.' Sasuke's inner reflections were cut off by a young woman who spoke to him, "You're Naruto's teammate right? I haven't seen him around at all; do you know where he's been?" The auburn haired daughter of the ramen stand owner was standing in front of him staring at him. Sasuke's depressed attitude only seemed to worsen upon her mentioning of Naruto. "He's not in Konoha anymore…" Sasuke trailed off.

The girl's cheery face began to dampen into an equally depressed one as Sasuke's. She looked at him for a moment and asked, "Please…tell me what happened to him. My father and I care dearly for him." Sasuke raised an eyebrow staring at her and she broke eye contact looking away with a blush on her face, "I care for him dearly…but how could he ever care for me when all he would talk about was Sakura and yourself? Did he ever mention my name, Ayame to you?" Sasuke's interest in the conversation brought him from his half-dead state as he replied to her, "Not specifically, but he said your ramen stand was one his favorite places in the world and that he loved the people there."

Ayame sighed sadly and then asked, "I need to know what happened to him…none of the other shinobi I asked will tell me a thing." The raven haired boy let out a long deep sigh, "Well you heard about me trying to leave Konoha I suppose. I guess I can start from there if you want the real story and not the official council bullshit."

The girl's full attention was focused on Sasuke as she stared at him waiting for him to begin. "I left Konoha…I won't go into the reasons why, but all you need to know was it was a personal matter. Naruto and several others from my age group were tasked to recover me. They encountered Orochimaru's Sound nin along the way and that picked them off individually. Finally when I reached the Valley of the End, Naruto had caught up with me."

Ayame walked around the counter and sat next to Sasuke as he continued his story, "We had a terrible battle…and we used our full arsenals on each other in an attempt to defeat one another. In the end, I used my cursed seal and he used his…power. We had a final standoff when I charged a Chidori and he channeled a Rasengan. When we collided in the center…I saw his eyes change into a silvery purple and he impaled me in the chest with his Rasengan."

Ayame gasped at Sasuke's story and she cut in, "That's terrible…I heard rumors that he tried to kill you. Is that what they were talking about?" Sasuke nodded before he began again, "The council tried to use it as an excuse to demean his reputation further. I tried to kill him as well…but that's not the point. Anyways, when he carried me back, I was conscious for some of the time, and I heard him say things that would honestly shock most people."

The ramen girl cringed as she thought about it, "What did he say?" Sasuke broke eye contact as he stared at the bowl in front of him, "He said he hated Konoha and almost everybody in it. He went on a rant about how they didn't deserve his loyalty and how even his closest friends…meaning me, Tsunade-sama, Sakura, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Iruka had veiled doubts about his potential. I don't believe that's true, but judging from his thought process at the time I believe he thought it was. The worst thing he said though was how he used to get beaten every birthday he had until the third hokage made it stop. I used to think he was a happy fool…but now I see that it was a mask to his true feelings…" Ayame gasped in horror at the thought of Naruto being beaten as a kid.

Sasuke took a deep breath and continued, "I thought I knew true pain…when my clan was killed, I suffered the indignity of loneliness fueled by an insatiable hatred…but he's been alone his entire life. I learned later from Iruka that his progress had been derailed and sabotaged constantly to make him fail in the academy. I didn't learn of his true worth until he saved my life in Wave country on our first C-rank mission that ended up becoming an A-rank."

Ayame held her head down in sorrow as she commented, "He's such a nice person…to think all of those terrible things happened to him, and there was barely anybody who tried to stop it." Sasuke looked at the girl who appeared to be holding back tears as he replied softly, "I passed out sometime before he brought me to the village and didn't wake up again until I got news from Tsunade-sama that he was missing. They all claimed that he was kidnapped by my brother Itachi…but I think he left."

Ayame gazed at the wall flabbergasted for a moment as she processed all of the information. "Thanks for telling me Sasuke-san. I think my father needs to hear this as well. Just leave the money on the counter." The girl got up and went into the kitchen behind the counter leaving Sasuke. The Uchiha finished his bowl of ramen and got up to leave.

He walked around the corner and put his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the ground. Thoughts began to race through his mind once again as he wandered down the streets of Konoha. 'Naruto is gone…I suppose nothing will change that. Anyways, I wonder how long I'll have to wait before they let me go do missions again. I am so bored of this civilian crap.'

Out of nowhere, a certain masked jounin ran up to Sasuke and started to walk next to him, "What's up Sasuke? You look rather down." The Uchiha shrugged as he disregarded his Sensei's observation. "Well I just thought that since you have all this free time, and I've been assigned to watch you all day, maybe we could continue into some more training." Sasuke's perked up at the mention of training as Kakashi continued, "Anything beats wallowing in shame all day."

Kakashi gave his one eyed U smile and motioned for Sasuke to follow him as he headed off. Sasuke followed his Sensei to their old training ground. Unknown to Sasuke, a certain purple haired Kunoichi had been listening to his entire conversation with Ayame. Anko held her eyes closed as she leaned against the wall. 'So that's why he left…I thought as much. I wonder if I'll ever see him again…' she thought to herself as she wandered half-drunk home. The image of his face kept popping into her mind despite her attempts to block them out. 'Gah, why should I care if he left…why can't I stop thinking about this…about him?' she asked herself before arriving at her home. She opened her door and plopped on the couch and felt her head throb painfully.

'The way the villagers looked at him…almost like the way they look at me. Distrust, fear, and hatred are the only things I see in them. If I ever see him again…I'm leaving with him.' Her mind wandered as she subconsciously admitted to herself the crush she had recently developed for Naruto. (Ooooh the plot thickens…) She drifted into unconsciousness as one word slipped from her mouth, "Naruto-kun…"

At a discreet, unknown location, nine Akatsuki members stood around in large dark cave facing an orange-masked individual. The figure began to speak, "I declared myself the official leader of Akatsuki…over a year ago…for those of you who don't know. Any challenges to me for supremacy will result in your displacement of life. I called you all here for one sole purpose. That purpose is to tell you what our new objectives are. As most of you know, we've been tracking Biju and their containers lately. The only two jinchuuriki we know of are the nine-tailed and the one-tailed beasts' containers. I want all of you to pair off again and search for the others. Don't blow your cover, I want to identify the most protected and powerful ones so we can capture them early before the nations catch on to Akatsuki and our goals."

A unanimous chorus sounded, "Yes Tobi-sama." The swirl orange-masked man began to speak again, "There is also a certain individual that you will all have to watch out for." Everyone's attention focused intently on Madara as he continued, "A rogue nin by the name of Pein."

Several looks of skepticism swept through the group as a familiar man known as Hidan with a triple bladed scythe spoke up, "We're supposed to be scared of some rogue ninja? I doubt he could take on any of us by ourselves let alone in pairs." Madara looked at Hidan and laughed at him, "He already defeated Itachi and Kisame…this rogue nin is the Jinchuuriki of the nine tails."

Everybody present except Zetsu, Madara, and said individuals held their mouths open in shock as they looked over to Itachi and Kisame for confirmation. Kisame let out a super exaggerated sigh as he stated, "Yeah…he's one bad mother fucker." Itachi nodded as he added, "He has the Rinnegan…he defeated us with one of the Rikudo Sennin's jutsus."

Hidan gave a disbelieving look to Itachi as he smirked, "I call bullshit on that one…you mean to tell me that somebody actually has the Rinnegan? And he defeated both of you?" Kisame groaned in irritation, "We weren't trying to kill him, but it was impossible to subdue him…and later he had friends show up halfway into our fight…the only problem is they had been dead for two years."

The normally quiet Konan decided to enter the conversation, "How have they been dead for two years? Who were they?" Kisame gave her an irritated glance before answering, "They were Zabuza the demon of the mist and his apprentice Haku. They died two years ago during some stupid bridge fight with some kids and the Copy-nin Kakashi."

Konan raised an eyebrow at Kisame and she replied bluntly, "You know an awful lot about them I see…they must have been friends of yours at one point I bet." The shark nin gave her a nasty death glare as he retorted angrily, "Keep your observations to yourself you bitch…I was just saying that I found it odd how they were serving this guy, Pein despite the fact that there were official reports of them dying."

Deidara decided to join the argument and laughed, "Ladies you're both pretty." They both turned to look at him coldly. Kakuzu plainly added, "You're sure one to talk…Mr. Pretty boy art lover." The blonde haired man shot Kakuzu a smirk as he began to sing, "What can I say…I'm beautiful in every single way."

Blank stares focused on the blonde causing him to laugh to himself, "Yeah…sorry I haven't blown anything up in a while. My artistic horizons have been hindered lately so I've been a bit on edge." Everyone rolled their eyes and focused back on Madara. "I just thought that you guys should know that failure is never tolerated…but since Itachi and Kisame faced a Rinnegan wielder who just so happened to be the nine tail's jinchuuriki, I am letting it slide. Do not engage Pein under any circumstances…do you understand me?"

A unanimous chorus of agreement sounded once again. Konan had a troubled look on her face and asked, "What do you intend to do with this Pein…because the way I see it, letting some powerful jinchuuriki run around and swing his dick into everyone's business unopposed seems foolhardy to me." Madara nodded his head in acknowledgement, "Yes that is true Konan…but eventually he will grow arrogant and seek us out…and I shall personally handle him."

Itachi and Kisame traded quick smirks as Madara finished. "Ok, I'm assigning all of you specific jobs. Zetsu, you are going to watch Orochimaru full time; report all of his actions to me. Sasori and Deidara I want you two to keep a close eye on the one-tailed beast's container…the Kazekage…try to be discreet. Hidan and Kakuzu, you two go search Earth Country…Itachi and Kisame go search in Lightning Country. I will search in Water Country and several surrounding areas. Konan…you have two special tasks."

The woman shot a confused look at her leader waiting for her assignment, "Konan, you are tasked with keeping an eye on Amegakure and Takigakure…those two villages have been unsettling lately according to rumors…kill their leaders and see if you can root out some information." The woman nodded. Madara finished, "You are all dismissed…we'll meet back in a few years whenever all nine jinchuuriki have been identified, and every nation toured for final intel. When we meet again we'll organize a plan."

Everyone filed out in their paired groups and split to the four winds. Konan started to head off before she felt Madara's presence behind her. "That was your official assignment…the other one is something I can trust only you with Konan." The blue haired kunoichi turned around with a confused look on her young, beautiful face and raised an eyebrow, "What is it Madara-sama?" He looked at her for a moment before answering, "I need you to go undercover and find out more about Pein. You may have to track him down or watch areas he is likely to cover. Zetsu won't be able to watch him much because I need him to keep an eye on Orochimaru in case the snake makes a wrong move."

Konan gave Madara a disapproving look and huffed, "Why do I have to do that?" Madara laughed as she scowled, "Because you were the one who was so concerned about him running free unchecked…plus I'm sure he wouldn't turn a pretty girl's help down." Konan glared at him for a moment before groaning in anger, "Ughhh, fine I'll look into it…if I have time, but I don't really see a point in…" she was interrupted by Madara, "Be perceptive girl…Imagine how strong our cause would be if he joined us."

Konan gasped at his statement, "You…you want me to bring him to you? You would have him join our ranks? Do you really think he would surrender to our cause…after Itachi and Kisame tried to capture him?" Madara sighed as he began to pace around her, "You lack the foresight to understand my plan, Konan. For now you will do as you're told and keep an eye on those small western countries. In due time your path will cross with his and you'll know what to do."

Madara disappeared without another word leaving a blue haired woman slightly irritated. She growled in frustration as she walked away and began to mock Madara, "Be perceptive girl, you'll know what to do when the time comes…for fuck's sake why does he have to make everything a puzzle or a riddle? I think I'll know what to do…shove a kunai up your ass is what I'll do…" The azure-haired beauty raged as she disappeared into the distance.

OKAY there's chapter 5 for you guys. I finally finished writing it now that all of my holiday activities have died down. Nice long chapter I hope you enjoyed. I threw in some humor in there if you didn't notice. Now to sum up some brief points: I know some of you may find it a bit far-fetched that Naruto was holding off Itachi and Kisame without too much effort, but let's face facts…Rinnegan = Godly, and he's Kyuubi's container…so yeah he will be super powerful from here on out. I know the fight may have seemed brief, but it was just skirmish between them…not some epic for the ages. As for him using the Chibaku Tensei this early…I know it may seem kind of far-fetched, but like everything else in this story there will be a reason behind that. I'm sure most of you can tell by this point that I love Akatsuki and all of its members. They will play vital roles in chapters to come. Also, just for the record Itachi and Kisame were joking…nobody send me questions asking if anyone is gay (Because somebody always does…) Well that about sums up this chapter…left lots of teasers in the chapter to give you guys hints for the future.


	6. Chapter 6

For those of you who reviewed, again I appreciate the input. Some reviews I wanted to respond to:

**Roxas321:** Yes you're right about Konan being OOC, but it'll work better in later chapters. I kind want her to be more aggressive…it will make her much more interesting next chapter.

**Roshane:** That's essentially what chakra weaving is in this story. I planned the idea from mokuton jutsus. Mokuton is simply a personalized version of chakra weaving individually developed by the first hokage in this fic. Since the Senju and Uzumaki clans are sister clans, they share several feats, and those include similar bloodlines, and being very adept at elemental jutsus. Since Naruto can do it with all of the elements, it makes him a stone-cold badass (and who doesn't love that?)

**Dragon Soul Weaver:** Absolutely one hundred percent true there.

**Sori-Akuma no Musei: **I'm glad you feel that way. Good to know when some people share the same insight to the author's plan. If you liked the story so far, it'll only get better after chapter six.

**.nightmare: **When Pein comes to my mind I think of Deva Pein/Yahiko(I think that's his name) I know Nagato was really the true Pein from canon, but I had the idea of him being Pein based off the fact of how much he would resemble Deva Pein if he was a bad guy. I never really made it clear I suppose, but Nagato and Yahiko don't exist in this fic…even though I adore them both, it would get in the way of Naruto being Pein. Sad face…but oh well.

**As for some other things to clear up for you guys before we begin**: Madara isn't actually gay, Itachi and Kisame were joking about it because he's super obsessive about people bending to his will, and I just thought I'd throw in some cheap humor to illustrate that they are friends more so than Akatsuki partners.

Shizune being bad…yeah I tried doing something new there…not sure if anyone has ever done it before but who cares, good girls going bad is hot. Am I right or what? Plus she'd be the perfect informant based off the fact that nobody would ever suspect her of it because she's the Hokage's apprentice.

Finally we have Sakura bashing…it has to be done, so I apologize if I'm a bit too hard on her. Although she does deserve it…I'm a terrible person. I won't kill you with it, but let's face facts…she is a bitch and needs some karma to smack her in the face.

Also I'm pleased to announce that I support Naruto x bad girls. If you haven't noticed by now you soon will…I like all the female villains a lot more. Although Anko isn't a villain she is a bad girl if you know what I mean. So you can expect some to make a glorious comeback. (WOOOOHOOOO) C'mon you know you're all excited. Like I said earlier, I can't promise too many from Konoha. I may or may not do Hinata. It'll be a surprise I guess. If I do she will be OOC…and I mean Super OOC. (Evil Hinata ftw?) No promises though.

Well that's enough of that for now. Here's chapter six.

**Chapter 6: Rumors**

Three years had gone by for the citizens of Konoha. For many of the regular people it was short and uneventful, however rumors of shinobi violence and criminal activities were all the talk as of late. A group of individuals were gathered in the Hokage's office. They had been summoned by Tsunade and now stood behind the weary woman as she stared out the window. She turned to speak to them as the door closed signaling the last person had arrived.

"Good you are all here now…I imagine you have all heard the rumors going around lately?" the blond woman asked the group of jounin in front of her. Among this group included a large list: Kakashi, Yamato, Anko, Neji, and all of Rookie Nine…minus one of course.

Some nodded and several others shook their heads. "Many of the older jounin have been sent to investigate these disturbances in several of the surrounding countries," Tsunade sighed, "as of late, there are rumors that our borders are in chaos. The leader of Amegakure, Hanzo, was murdered over two years ago leaving a large vacuum of power for many of the small time criminals there. Violence is prevalent, and that's not the only thing going on out there." Sakura cut into her explanation after Tsunade finished, "Yes they say that the assassin was a cloaked woman who murdered half of Amegakure's leadership, and she assumed control of the village."

Several present shot Sakura annoyed glances at the sound of hearing her speak. Many of them held her responsible for Naruto leaving. Despite what several of them would admit, the blonde had personally affected all of them at one point, and his disappearance left an uneasy tension when they were around Sakura. Anko chimed in casually, "Well damn, pinky's got everything figured out. We should all just listen to her instead of the Hokage." The pink haired girl shot a nasty glare at Anko and spoke back, "I don't know what your problem is you weird bitch, but I was just trying to help by giving my input."

Anko's eyebrow twitched as she stared at Sakura, "I don't know who you think you are, but nobody cares about anything you have to say!" Tsunade held her tongue as she watched the conversation in interest. "How dare you! I am Tsunade-sama's apprentice I'll have you know!"

The inhabitants of the room eagerly watched the scene unfold, some hoping for a fight. "I could care less if you were her wiper. You are probably the worst excuse of a ninja this place has ever seen. Fucking pink hair, that's not stealthy, not to mention a very small chakra pool, and to top it off, you're nothing but a howling banshee bitch that wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the fact that your teammates carried you."

Kakashi looked as if he was about to say something, but then he stopped…silently agreeing with everything Anko had said. Sakura looked as if she was getting really emotional, "I'm not going to stand here and take this from some washed up pupil of Orochimaru who clearly doesn't understand when her betters are speaking."

Anko got up to Sakura's face and began to yell, "Well aren't you a little narcissistic bitch! You're worthless and hated, just ask anybody here." Sakura looked around the room and noticed everybody staring at her with mixed glances of disapproval or hatred in Sasuke's case. "Tell me guys what you think of me to shut her up!" Sakura demanded as she stared at the group. The jounin simply stared at her. "Kakashi-Sensei…Neji…Shikamaru?"

The three of them gave her bored uninterested glances as they disregarded her presence. "I know my Sasuke-kun appreciates me!" she boasted. The Uchiha leered at her full of malice, "No I don't…I never did. And thanks to you my best friend has been missing for three fucking years." Desperately, the pink haired girl looked to Ino, her best childhood, "Ino? Anything to say?" her friend simply looked away from her, "Sasuke told us about you trying to get Naruto in trouble, Sakura." Sakura looked petrified at Ino's rejection as she finally turned to Hinata, "Hinata…not you as well." The Hyuuga girl stared at Sakura for a moment and sighed, "I agree with everything Sasuke said. Naruto-kun was a great person…and what you did to him was wrong."

She whimpered as she started to crack under the pressure of everyone's silent staring, "How am responsible for him disappearing?" Sasuke could have melted her face off with the look radiating off of his, "He left because you tried to get the council to strip his shinobi rank. Not to mention being a bitch to him all those years…no wonder he left." She looked back at him with a confused glance, "What do you mean he left?" Tsunade sighed once again as she entered the conversation, "We have reports that he was emotionally unstable his entire time back in Konoha and we have reports of him being spotted near the borders of Fire country over three years ago." (When he was going to the Fox Den)

Sakura looked around shocked as the disregard from the group turned into venomous stares, "You can't all hold me responsible for him leaving can you? He was kidnapped from what I hear?" Anko laughed at her as Sakura began to frown. Tsunade sighed deeply as she watched Sakura back away from the group in a fit of emotions, "Sakura, go take a breather I'll brief you individually later."

Sakura held her head down in shame as she felt her eyes begin to water. She ran out of the hokage's office in tears leaving a very relieved looking group of individuals. Tsunade turned to the group and slowly began, "Anyways…back to what I was saying, Hanzo was one of the most powerful shinobi of our lifetime, and it is troubling to hear of his death. Although Amegakure isn't the only issue we have lately. There have been reports of a notorious S-rank criminal known as Pein, who has been terrorizing many surrounding countries. According to Anbu, he's been sighted in Wave Country, Water Country, Snow Country, Sound Country and even through our own borders."

Kakashi asked curiously, "Who is this Pein? I don't think I've ever heard of him." Tsunade frowned as she turned to the window, "Nobody knows who he is…nobody even knows what he looks like, but they say he just showed up out of nowhere and started wreaking havoc somewhere close to two or three years ago." Several present traded concerned glances and Neji spoke up, "Is that why you called us here Hokage-sama?" The woman turned to meet the Hyuuga's gaze and she replied, "Yes and no. I wanted to tell you guys about some of the things Anbu have dug up about him in case you encounter him on your mission."

Everybody in the room tensed as Tsunade called out, "Shizune bring the reports in!" the brunette woman strolled in past the group casually unlike her normal racing, busy self. "Right here Tsunade-sama." The Hokage nodded and began to open the report reviewing parts of it, "It says here the earliest sightings of Pein came from Wave Country. I don't know if you remember Tazuna the bridge builder, but he was the one who reported Pein in the first place."

Kakashi and Sasuke shot surprised looks at Tsunade, and Sasuke asked, "What happened?" Tsunade began to pace unlike her normal self as she placed the folder on the desk, "Tazuna says that two black cloaked men with red clouds on them kidnapped and imprisoned the villagers of Wave as hostages for some unknown purpose. He said that he remembered their names, Kisame and your brother, Itachi."

Sasuke felt anger swell up at the mention of his older brother. He stared at Tsunade fiercely waiting for her to finish, "Kisame is an S-ranked criminal from Kirigakure, and we all know who Itachi is. Anyways we have over fifty eyewitnesses that they were held captive until a shadowy figure arrived and battled the two. Tazuna says that after a terrible battle he assumed their rescuer had won the fight because he came back to the temple. This also brought up more disturbing news…"

Everybody intently watched Tsunade as she elaborated further, "They say that three figures emerged from the mist after the battle outside of the temple where many of the villagers still were. Anbu interviewed many of the hostages, and some were thought delusional claiming that the figures identified themselves as Pein and the Demon of the Mist. This is where our first sighting of Pein was."

Kakashi coughed, "You mean there were sightings of Zabuza of the Mist?" Tsunade nodded, "Yes and his hunter nin companion as well." Sasuke visibly tensed at the memory of Zabuza and Haku, "Tsunade-sama…what did Anbu find out about those sightings? Also could the villagers have caught a look at Pein?" She turned to him with a disturbed look on her face, "Nobody is one hundred percent certain, but their graves were completely empty according to the townspeople. As for your other question, nobody in that village will talk about Pein himself. None of the villagers would speak about the event after Danzo's ROOT agents finished talking to them."

Shocked gasps and wide eyes met Tsunade's comment. There was a long silence before Shikamaru finally broke it, "How come you never told any of us about this until now?" Tsunade sighed as she glanced at him. "It was a battle between five S-ranked criminals…I'm pretty sure that's not on a need to no basis unless you're part of active-duty Anbu, or myself." Shikamaru rolled his eyes much to Tsunade's annoyance. "Hm, I guess that would be troublesome."

Anko started to speak, "So what was the point of that long, boring, story?" Tsunade turned to the purple-haired snake mistress and shrugged, "I just thought you guys should know in case you encounter trouble on your mission…which brings me to the original reason why I brought you all here."

Tsunade frowned as she examined her jounin squad, "If you recall what Sakura mentioned earlier, there was a woman who usurped Amegakure's leadership over two years ago. Our spies claim she is named, Konan." Mixed looks of confusion swept through the party of jounin as they silently listened, "Beyond that there isn't much else we know about her…but many of the Daimyo in surrounding countries are offering to pay fortunes to anybody who can kill her…The simple fact that she killed Hanzo means that she is a Kage level criminal. We three sannin didn't even defeat Hanzo in our youth…so that might give you an idea what she is capable of." Everyone in the room bowed their heads knowing what she meant.

"Konoha's economy is suffering lately due to trading routes being attacked and many won't travel for fear of being killed. Amegakure has a large monopoly over the trading roads in all of the western countries, and even dare to cut off our own lines to Suna. Obviously, this Konan is far too dangerous for us and the surrounding countries, so you are tasked to assassinate her by any means necessary. I would prefer minimum casualties, but this is a vital mission. I already sent my Anbu platoon ahead, meet up with them and coordinate an offensive." Several nods followed before the Hokage turned to her assistant, "By the way Shizune…I need you to go there as well in case the need for a skilled medic arises."

Everybody nodded as Shizune shook her head nervously, "Ah Tsunade-sama maybe you should tell them about the last group of people that tried to kill Konan." Surprised looks were directed to the woman. Tsunade acknowledged her comment, "Yes, Shizune has a point. Iwa sent a full company of jounin to kill her over a year ago, and they were all wiped out."

A large chorus of gasps erupted from the group before Chouji asked, "You're sending us on a suicide mission?" The Hokage looked down in shame as she began, "Believe me…I don't have a choice. So long as this Konan is alive, the surrounding countries have no fear of attacking Fire Country. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Konan is far more terrifying than Hanzo." Shikamaru had a deep thought written on his face as he slowly began to speak, "How did they wipe out a company of jounin? I heard Ame was a relatively small Shinobi nation."

The almond brown eyes of Tsunade scanned the group in front of her, "Apparently Konan practically blew up half the village to kill them all. I contacted Iwa to see if they would be willing to help us attack Amegakure again, but they refused." Kiba began to laugh, "Oh that's cool, we might as well just stab ourselves now." Ino gave a concerned look as she questioned, "Why would they refuse? Don't they want payback?"

Yamato spoke up for the first time at the meeting and casually answered, "Well I imagine losing a big chunk of your village's jounin in one battle would deter you from wanting to send more people to their deaths."

"You won't be alone…also don't forget that I have a platoon of my best Anbu there. For this mission, you will be in charge Kakashi. You can assign your own lieutenants…just get the job done. You are all dismissed."

The group bowed their heads in unison and filed out of the Hokage's office one by one. Finally, only three figures remained. Among this trio included Shizune, Sasuke, and Kakashi. The masked jounin spoke up in an unusual concerned tone, "Tsunade…tell me more about what Anbu dug up in Wave Country…Zabuza and Haku were extremely dangerous criminals. We saw them die."

Tsunade glanced at Kakashi and back to Sasuke reading the troubled look on their faces. "It is possible it could have been a genjutsu, but it seems highly unlikely, since their graves were uncovered…" Sasuke had a disturbed look on his face, "That's…insane! They both died on that bridge and were buried…that can't be true." Kakashi and Sasuke traded concerned stares as Tsunade handed the file to Kakashi, "Read through it if you want…go talk to Danzo and ROOT, or see for yourself. All three will tell you the exact same thing…that Pein has found a way to reanimate them."

Shizune tensed at the mention of Pein, which did not go unnoticed by the Hokage, "Something wrong Shizune?" The brunette woman casually smiled and rubbed the back of her head, "No of course not Hokage-sama." Her mind had a different answer however, 'Stupid bitch…Konan already knows you're coming…and if you see Pein and his followers kiss your ass goodbye.'

Kakashi gave Shizune a weird stare. Tsunade looked at Sasuke for a moment and held up the book he had given her three years ago, "Rikudo Sennin…I found out that this book is the original version. It is an account written by the Sage's grandson. It's hundreds of years old. Commentaries have been added to it over the years…but I found its contents disturbing." Sasuke shot Tsunade a surprised look as she continued, "There is something I thought I should tell you Sasuke…apparently the Sage of Six Paths had the power over life and death…and this book vaguely explains how the sage could resurrect people."

Kakashi's one visible eye shot open in shock, "You mean to tell us…you think this Pein is the Sage of Six Paths? That's impossible!" She looked at the book once again before turning to Kakashi and Sasuke, "It's just a wild theory, but nobody has seen Pein and lived to tell the tale except for one Kirigakure Anbu nin…they refuse to tell us anything about it. I don't know much about the sage, but apparently he did have a powerful bloodline known as the Rinnegan. It could be possible that Pein has it, but it might just be superstition. Either way, unless we take out Pein sometime soon, Konan will be the least of our troubles."

Kakashi and Sasuke nodded as they distantly stared at the wall. Tsunade placed the book down on her desk and paced around her desk."At any rate, be careful out there guys…" They bowed their heads in unison as they left, Shizune noticed the book sitting on Tsunade's desk and stealthily grabbed it as she walked out leaving Tsunade alone in her office. She stared out the window and sighed.

A white-haired man coughed and brought her attention out of her mind, "Ah Tsunade-hime…would you like me to go with them?" The blonde haired woman raised a brow at Jiraiya who was standing at the window with a serious look on his face, "We need you here Jiraiya…the village isn't safe with all of our shinobi forces patrolling the borders and attacking Ame." The toad sage sighed as he continued, "Konan was a former student of mine…an orphan from Ame. She was very adept at folding chakra into just about anything, which she would do with paper. She is extremely dangerous. You're sending those people to their deaths."

Tsunade shot a surprised look at Jiraiya as she folded her arms, "Former student? I didn't know you had any besides Minato." He frowned sadly as he stared at Tsunade, "She was a very kind young girl once upon a time…She was eight years old at the time I met her. I remember finding her stealing food in a small run down village just out of Amegakure. It was after the last war. She got caught by the stall owner and was about to get beaten before I intervened. After that she kind of followed me around for about a day constantly asking me if I would teach her how to be strong. Eventually, I decided to do so…just to teach her enough to fend for herself. However, she might as well have been my daughter because she stayed with me for seven years back during my traveling days…after what happened with her I came back to Konoha during the time of the chunin exams where Orochimaru invaded."

Tsunade looked at a slightly emotional Jiraiya as she asked, "What happened? What did she do?" He looked down in shame, "I remember her talking to me one day about how the world was too cruel and life was unfair…she was a very angry individual who couldn't stand the sight of seeing other people happy. She asked me what I thought about killing…I regret what I told her." The hokage tensed in anticipation before Jiraiya finished, "I told her that some people deserved to die…It is not something that I'm proud of, but it was the truth."

Tsunade cut in, "That's unfortunate…but it's something not uncommonly seen in orphans." Jiraiya sighed deeply, "Apparently she took it to heart, because one day, she and I were on a training trip in Earth Country and we stopped at this village…we got a couple of rooms at an inn and stayed for a few days. I went to the hot springs one afternoon to get inspiration for my book…" Tsunade rolled her eyes at him as he continued, "and she decided to go eat at one of the nice restaurants in town. Several hours later I heard screaming and shouting coming from outside. I gathered myself and went to the center of the commotion and I saw Konan standing over dozens of bodies covered in blood."

Tsunade looked horrified as the story unraveled, "Apparently, a rich woman had flaunted herself over Konan making fun of her for being a lone kunoichi in the restaurant. I don't know the whole story, but I learned from several of the survivors that the woman called Konan a lonely wretch who would never find true love. Judging by the devastation and the death, I assumed something in the girl snapped that day. By the time I arrived I was too late to save the thirty or so people she killed. I asked her why she did it and she told me something that gives me nightmares to this day…'They deserved to die.'"

Jiraiya was silent for a moment as he felt self-pity wash over him, "I didn't try to stop her as she ran away from the town…I wandered around for a year after she left, and had nightmares about it ever since…to think I created the monster she is today. She was fifteen years old…and she killed thirty-four innocent people. I was there, and I should have stopped her, but something in me couldn't do it. All of those people…their blood is on my hands and not hers."

"Jiraiya, it wasn't your fault, you could never have…" He snapped back at her interrupting her sentence, "It was my fault Tsunade…I'm responsible for every single person she has killed…which is a number I only dread to hear. I should have made her understand…I should have helped her…I failed her…just like a failed Minato and just like I failed Naruto…" Tsunade shot him a devastated look at the sight of seeing the man upset, "Jiraiya…it's okay, you weren't responsible for what happened to Naruto…or Minato." The toad sage sighed as he looked away, "I…I have to go Tsunade."

The woman gave Jiraiya a sad look as he jumped onto the open window, "Jiraiya…" he turned to look at her but she couldn't find the words to speak as his sorrow deepened, "I'll be at my house Tsunade…I need to be alone for a while." He leapt out of the window leaving Tsunade alone once again. She groaned in frustration as she yelled at nobody in particular, "Damn it!"

XXXXX

A brunette medic nin was walking through the streets of Konoha making her way to the training grounds as she casually passed groups of people who didn't even notice her. Shizune was very good at blending in to a crowd. Despite her plain appearance, she was simply considered by all to be a nice and pretty woman, but nobody ever could suspect her of the dark sins she had committed. Being the Hokage's apprentice made her one of Madara's most effective spies because she could directly report all of the village's actions and tactics."

As she wandered into the forest she walked by several trees as if expecting somebody to show up. As if on que, a figure emerged from the tree behind her and walked next to her. She turned to greet the individual with a twisted smile, "They are on their way…it is a platoon of the hokage's anbu, around thirty or so strong, and a strike team of jounin including the copy-nin Kakashi. I have also been sent as their medic."

The plant maw on the figure's head opened up before he spoke, "I shall report this to Konan immediately. Do they suspect?" Shizune smiled darkly as she replied, "No…the fools are rushing headlong into the trap as planned." Zetsu casually nodded before Shizune interjected, "However, they have been curious about Pein and are snooping around…They have sightings of Pein all over Wave, Snow, Water, and Sound Countries."

The man nodded, "Yes he has been tracking Orochimaru lately, which is why I have been able to keep a close eye on both of them. I sent Kabuto to lure him to Ame where he'll kill all of Konoha's nin for us." Zetsu's dark half began to speak, "Orochimaru fled to Kusagakure but all of his servants are still in Oto. He will kill all of our enemies there and all of the Konoha nin in a glorious display. So it would be a very good idea for you to get out of there before it happens."

Shizune shot the human plant a confused look, "Kabuto works for us?" Zetsu simply nodded, "He's one of Tobi's agents sent to watch Orochimaru after he defected from Akatsuki." The medic nin nodded in understanding as she handed a scroll to Zetsu, "Here is a list of Konoha's patrol schedule and battle plans. I also have a book that I think Tobi might want to see" Shizune pulled a book out of her coat handing it to the robed aloe vera man. Zetsu read the title out loud, "Rikudo Sennin…I shall deliver this to Tobi."

Zetsu disappeared without another word as Shizune turned to head back into the city. She began to laugh out loud as she happily headed home to gather supplies for the mission to Amegakure. (It's always the nice ones that turn out to be crazy)

XXXXX

Back with Tsunade and Sakura, a conversation was raging, "Tsunade-sama I can't work with them…They all think I'm responsible for Naruto leaving!" Tsunade glared at her for being ignorant, "Despite whatever they may think or feel about you, you are still a shinobi, and you still have to work with them on this mission. I had thought that maybe after these three years of Naruto being gone you would begin to appreciate the attention and feelings he had for you, but it seems I was wrong."

Sakura held her head down in shame, "I know what I did was wrong…but at the time, I didn't think anything of it…it can't have all been my fault." The blond woman shrugged, "You were one of the catalysts to his disappearance, and judging by the things Sasuke says about you, I'm sure the others might feel the same. Still though, if you ever want to earn their forgiveness, then start acting like a proper kunoichi and not some spoiled whining brat."

Sakura dejectedly bobbed her head, "Yes hokage-sama…I'm…sorry for what I did to Naruto." The hokage gave her a stern look as she skeptically replied, "Maybe one day I'll be able to believe that…but that day won't come until Naruto comes home and you apologize to him." Sakura nodded and silence filled the office once again, "Go join the others Sakura…you are going to be one of the medics. Please think about what I've said." The pink haired jounin bowed as she left walking past a bandaged man who walked in with a condescending smirk, "So I hear that you have finally come to terms about the fox kid leaving. We may not see eye to eye in matters pertaining to him, but I was correct in my assumption that he was mentally unstable."

Tsunade shot Danzo a death glare as she stood up, "What is it you want, Danzo?" The man gave her a passive aggressive smile as he spoke, "Nothing, nothing at all, I just thought I'd check up on the status of your jounin." Tsunade sighed as she looked around bored, "They are on route to wipe out the leader of Amegakure. I sent many of my personal anbu ahead of them as well. All we can do now is hope…and pray." Danzo silently nodded as he turned to leave, "Rest assured that my ROOT agents are working night and day to find Naruto…though I hope you can face the truth when they find him."

The almond brown eyes of the hokage shot an angry leer at the man as he walked out of the room smiling. "How the hell did Sensei put up with that mother fucker…" she trailed off as she pulled out a bottle of Sake and began to drink.

XXXXX

Naruto had grown immensely powerful over the past three years. True to his own agenda, he had been hunting Orochimaru, He originally started his quest out of revenge against Orochimaru for killing the third hokage however, his reason changed over the years. Now he wanted to kill Orochimaru to remove any competition against his own plans for world domination. After Haku, Zabuza, and he had left Wave Country, they had been wreaking havoc all over the continent. All branded as notorious S-class criminals, they encountered many would be heroes who were murdered and in some cases mutilated as they tried to apprehend or kill him.

Pein was the number one criminal in the bingo books across all of the shinobi nations, and nobody even knew what he looked like or anything about him, seeing as he killed anyone who identified him. The rumors of his companions were even more shocking to the world, especially to Kirigakure in general. During a brief battle with their anbu strike team, one survivor made it back to Mist to spread the word of Zabuza and Haku's notorious return. News of the battle at Wave near the demolished Temple of Whirling Tides had left many Nations terrified as well by the desecrated landscape. Members of different nations would flock to the scene to uncover more about Pein.

They were all given call sign titles by the shinobi nations. Zabuza was known by his former one as the Demon of the Mist, Haku was known as the Sanguine Hunter, and Naruto himself had been known by dozens of different names in different parts of the world. One of the most common was Pein the Invincible. Many of the titles were bestowed upon him by the superstitious people who had never seen but only heard of trio and the trail of death that followed them.

Naruto had changed over the past few years in appearance as well. He was much taller now, matching Zabuza in height and build. The jinchuuriki wore something similar to a black Anbu outfit and had a medium sized anbu blade on his back. Zabuza hadn't physically changed much at all, but wore an outfit somewhat similar to Naruto's except his was white and black. Haku on the other hand had blossomed into a fully developed and beautiful woman. Her hair was slightly longer, but not all that much different. The real difference was the curves that had developed. The woman was adorned in a green outfit similar to her previous one, with the exception of some cleavage left out. She was as beautiful as she was deadly. Overall, the three were a force to be reckoned with.

They were currently hot on the tracks of Orochimaru's follower Kabuto in an attempt to uncover where the Snake Sannin's secret base of operations was. Kabuto had retreated to Otogakure and the trio were on the road leading to the village. Haku sighed as they walked, "If we want to catch this weasel why are we walking there?" Naruto gave her a casual glance as he replied, "Obviously he intends to set up some poorly assembled trap believing us to be fools, and then he'll make his way to some kind of get a way trail which will lead us to Orochimaru. So by giving him a false sense of security we're making it easier on ourselves."

Naruto shook his head in annoyance as he they continued walking, "God damn this Orochimaru is one slippery son of a bitch…I thought we had him last year when we were in Snow Country…but no it was just another false trail." Zabuza sighed as he swung his sword around his arm out of reflexive habit. "Yeah that place sucked…but at least you got something out of it Naruto," Zabuza chuckled. Haku cut in darkly, "Yeah…if I ever see that woman again…"

Zabuza laughed as he processed that infamous evening through his head, "What was her name again Naruto?" Naruto laughed, "Oh you mean Koyuki-hime? Yeah that was a bit of a random…encounter I guess you could call it." Haku's hunter nin mask was off and she had a displeased look on her face, "Encounter? That bitch is a rapist…"

Zabuza gave Haku a smirk, "C'mon Haku you know it was funny…I mean Naruto is a pimp after all." (I'm sorry but I had to do it LOL) Haku glared at him as she responded, "That chick was just a slut…I can't even believe you slept with her Naruto-kun." Zabuza gave her a glazed smirk, "Aw my little Haku is jealous…if she's a good girl Naruto might just reward her eventually." She looked at Zabuza and sighed, "You're not helping me at all by encouraging this Zabuza…"

Naruto finally looked at Haku and said, "I didn't realize this was such a big deal to you…maybe if you were more up front about it…" The girl blushed madly and looked away trying to hide her embarrassment. "I…wasn't asking for…" She was interrupted by an amused Naruto, "Oh? So you don't want it then?" She blushed even deeper before putting her hunter nin mask back on. Finally Naruto stopped teasing her, "Well at any rate, I think Otogakure is just a few miles down the road."

The group continued to walk silently for a moment before Zabuza spoke up, "Naruto, I have a request if you would honor me accept it." The jinchuuriki looked at the black haired swordsman, "Sure Zabuza…I owe you and Haku favors for following me these past few years after Orochimaru." He bowed his head respectfully as he began, "It's just…I can't stop thinking about Kirigakure and all of the loose ends I left there. I tried to kill the Mizukage before I left…Yagura."

Naruto stopped in his tracks and stared at Zabuza intently, "Speak your mind Zabuza…we have a few minutes." He sighed as he continued slowly, "Yagura is the reason I left, because I tried to kill him when he ordered a purge of all with kekkai genkai throughout mist. Bloodlines aren't revered in Kiri like they are in your Konoha…they are feared. Yagura was the three tailed turtle's jinchuuriki…so obviously I couldn't defeat him. I found Haku when I fled, though she was an orphan."

Naruto looked at Zabuza as the man finished, "So you want to go kill this Yagura?" the Demon of the Mist nodded. Haku spoke up, "Yes, Yagura is a terrible person…who deserves nothing short of a horrible death." The orange haired man nodded his head in understanding. "He's a jinchuuriki with full control over his Biju…but if anyone can defeat him I think you could Naruto."

The jinchuuriki sighed as he looked at the two of them, "I never told you guys about my past…" They both looked at him intently since he rarely shared personal history, "I was an orphan my entire life…I told you two that, but I never told you why." The duo looked at him confused as he began again, "The fourth hokage sealed the nine-tailed fox inside of me…I'm a jinchuuriki as well." Complete shock was written over Zabuza's face and Haku's which was recently uncovered again.

Zabuza asked shocked, "So that red chakra? That was the Kyuubi's? I had always thought it was part of the Rinnegan bloodline." Naruto shook his head sadly, "The life of a jinchuuriki is a terrible one…full of loneliness, fear, and hatred. I'm sure this Yagura had his reasons for being the way he was…" Haku looked at her leader and asked, "What's it like Naruto-kun? I mean…does the demon ever affect you?"

Kyuubi began to laugh in Naruto's mind, **"Go ahead and tell them that you hear voices in your head…I'm looking forward to hearing what they say." **Naruto ignored Kyuubi as he spoke, "Not really, I have full control over the demon, and with my Rinnegan I can use all of its chakra." Kyuubi sighed as heard the sentence, **"That may be, but you can't deny that it is only by my doing that you even got this far…" **Zabuza and Haku nodded in understanding. Zabuza spoke up, "I don't hold anything against you for that Naruto and neither does Haku. In fact it only strengthens our resolve in your leadership."

"If you wish this Yagura dead, I shall kill him in your honor Zabuza." The masked swordsman nodded in cheer as Haku cut in, "Plus it would be a good way to strike some fear into the pompous five great shinobi nations if they heard that Pein killed one of the Kages." A chorus of laughter echoed amongst the three. "Well at any rate, let's go meet the lovely citizens of Oto." Unanimous cheering followed Naruto's comment as the three began to run to the village.

After about ten minutes, they reached the front gate of Otogakure and casually walked up to the guards as if they owned the place. The two chunin standing guard shot concerned glances at one another when they saw the trio approach, "Halt, what is your business in Oto? We were not told of any visitors." The second chunin took one look at Zabuza and nearly pissed his pants, "Umm Yashota, that's Zabuza of the Mist…and the Sanguine Hunter. So that must make him…." The man looked at Naruto and was petrified as he as he saw the silvery purple eyes glaring at him. The other guard finished for him, "Pein…oh by the gods no…why me? We're fucked OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT!"

Zabuza shot the two an annoyed glance as he jumped at them at super human speed and cleaved one in half with his sword. The other guard ran away in terror into the village but was frozen in place by ice and he felt a hand grab his throat. Naruto held the man off the ground and squeezed his throat in a terrible vice grip, "Where is Kabuto? Answer me now or Zabuza will skin you alive." The man was choking in a desperate attempt to answer before Naruto released him letting his body crash to the ground. He began to cough up blood, "I don't know…he came here earlier today and told us to await further orders from Guren-sama!"

Zabuza grabbed the man by his hair and pulled his head back as he brought the man to his knees in front of Naruto. Naruto looked at him carelessly as he casually spoke, "Accept the greatest honor of dying by my hand." The man started to cry as Naruto pulled out a kunai and slashed the man's cheek slowly before stabbing him through the heart and letting him fall to the ground in a pool of blood.

He looked at Haku and Zabuza, "Let's go meet this Guren and find out where Kabuto is." They both nodded enthusiastically as they began to walk through the streets of Otogakure. As they made their way through the town, many of the civilians started to panic and cower as the group passed. Finally, they reached what appeared to be the largest building in the village and were surrounded.

Anbu and jounin jumped down surrounding them as they continued to walk unfazed by the arrival. Finally a woman jumped in front of Naruto as well as two figures to her sides. The two figures were ones he recognized as Tayuya and Kimimaro. He gave them peculiar glances wondering why they were still alive. The main woman had a beaming smile on her face as she inspected them, "Well well well, what brings the Invincible Pein and his followers to our humble village?" Naruto gave the woman a death stare as he spoke, "I am here for Kabuto…hand him over and maybe I won't slaughter everyone here." She gave him a surprised look as he began to laugh at her.

She glared at him in anger, "What makes you think you stand a chance against my entire village?" Zabuza butted into the conversation with an amused tone, "I thought this was Orochimaru's village? Or are you his wife? Daughter perhaps?" She retorted in an irritated tone, "I am not! I am Orochimaru's second, and I was raised by him. I am Guren" Kimimaro spoke up in a calm voice, "Orochimaru has offered protection and care for many of the people in this village, and your ill will against him and us is falsely accused." Naruto began to speak again, "I thought Gaara had killed you over three years ago…seems strange that you haven't died from your illness either." The jinchuuriki then shot a look at the fiery red head next to him and laughed, "It seems you're still alive too Ms. Hothead."

Tayuya started to cuss, "How the fuck do you know about that you fucking shit head!" Naruto smirked as he winked at her which only irritated her more. "Who the hell do you think you are just walking into our village like you own the place?" she yelled as Kimimaro shot a super confused look at Naruto. He questioned, "Yes how did you know about that?" Naruto sighed as he elaborated, "Seems Orochimaru failed to retrieve Sasuke…and now he is wallowing in some hole unable to perform a single jutsu…and when I find him I will tear off his head and keep it as a trophy."

Everyone present froze at the amount of killer intent that was radiating from Naruto. Guren roared as she went through several handseals, "Over my dead body you will! Shōton: Suishō Tō!" (Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Blade) A long crystal blade formed over Guren's arm as she rushed Naruto with impressive speed.

She tried to stab him but he grabbed her wrist with unseen speed and began to squeeze. Everyone present tensed up as if they were about to fight. Naruto calmly stated, "This is between me and your leader." Everybody backed up reluctantly from Naruto's killer intent.

Guren felt the pressure of his grip around her wrist begin to hurt painfully. She tried to kick him but he easily grabbed her leg and threw her to the ground. She jumped back up as she held her wrist in pain. Naruto spoke up casually, "Can you feel it Guren…the fear, closing in all around you. You stand no chance against me."

She began to yell at him, "I fear nothing!" she went through several handseals and shot a barrage of crystals at him. "DIE FOOL!" Naruto laughed as the crystals flew closer, "Shinra Tensei!" The invisible shield repelled the attack back at Guren and she blocked the rebound with a crystal wall.

"What the hell was that?" she asked desperately confused as Naruto began to walk slowly towards her. She flew through more hand seals and a crystal dragon formed and began to pounce at Naruto. He sighed as he drew his sword and charged it in his hands, "Fūton: Ryūjin Rasengan." (Wind Release: Dragon Sword Spiraling Sphere) The sword charged with a glowing blue spike of spiraling chakra that began to swirl around Naruto in the form of a dragon. It completely shattered Guren's crystal dragon to pieces raining down the fragments below.

Guren roared in frustration as she formed two more crystal blades on her arms and began to duel Naruto in a swordfight. The orange-haired criminal easily parried her attacks with his anbu sword. She began to flurry her attacks relentlessly in an attempt to hit him, filling with kicks and flips or anything to throw him off balance. Unfortunately for her, he remained completely composed and continued toying with her. "Why the fuck can't I hit you!" she screamed in anger as she began to attack faster. Finally, Naruto grabbed one of her wrists again, and stabbed her with his sword as he caught the other wrist that attempted to slab him. He squeezed them in his infamous vice grip and she fell to her knees in agony. He released his grip and began to pace in front of her looking around at the crowd. As she knelt in front of him helplessly, he slashed her throat with one simple motion and she fell over dead.

Everyone present began to back away slowly as Naruto started laughing. "If she was the best you have here, then the rest of you are doomed." Zabuza and Haku laughed at the amount of fear sweeping through the crowd. Naruto took a closer look at the body and thought to himself for a moment. 'She may be useful…' A joyful chorus of Kyuubi's laughter echoed in his head, **"Best way to make an example of these fools is to make their leaders bow before you!"**He thought about it for a moment, and then channeled power from his arms at her dead body and felt the familiar swirling vision. Guren's body was elevated off the ground and began to glow white. Zabuza and Haku watched, interested as they had always been curious of their own resurrection.

Many of the Sound jounin and Anbu whimpered in horror or simply fainted at the sight of a completely rejuvenated Guren's eyes opening. She stood up in complete confusion as she stared at Naruto. He stared at her for a moment and she began to do the same. She looked at his eyes in complete shock. Naruto smiled as he began to speak "Now you understand…I have the Rinnegan." She looked at him in disbelief as she tried to back away but had her wrists in his grip once again. The two surviving members of the sound five had destroyed looks on their faces.

"You…you killed me. How am I alive?" she gasped in shock as she looked over to Kimimaro and Tayuya who continued to stare in disbelief. Naruto laughed as he shouted, "Because I am a god! The Rinnegan is all-powerful." She shot him an angry glare as she shouted back, "I don't believe in that superstitious shit! You're no god!" Naruto kneed her in the stomach and she fell to her knees again. "If I am not a god, then why are you on your knees before me?" a super large crowd of not only Oto shinobi, but citizens as well gathered around the scene and stared in utter disbelief. Guren finally felt a sense of hopeless defeat wash over her as she looked up at Naruto with a pained face and met his stare. She silently asked, "How did you bring me back to life?"

A long silence filled the air as he looked at her, before he answered, "You wasted your unique powers serving a man who could offer you nothing but lies and death. Make yourself useful to me and I shall offer you far more than he ever could…I am your master now." Guren looked unconvinced, "You presume too much Pein…Orochimaru is my…"

She stopped speaking as he cupped her cheek with his hand. She felt a surge of warmth flow through her body at his touch. 'This feels…so good. His hand is so warm,' she thought as she began to smile. She experienced his chakra flowing from his hand and felt it washing over her. She smiled as he stroked her face much to Haku's displeasure. Zabuza whispered to Haku with a quick a smirk, "I told you he was a pimp." The masked hunter nin only glared in jealousy as Guren stared at Naruto with infatuation. "This is merely a taste of what I can offer you," Naruto stated soothingly.

Many of the viewers present at this fight were perplexed by the fact that Guren was allowing Pein to touch her face. Tayuya and Kimimaro traded shocked glances as they saw Guren's face become flustered. Tayuya whispered to Kimimaro, "What the fuck is happening?" Kimimaro looked at the red head and sighed, "Whatever it is, Guren-sama seems to be enjoying it." Tayuya shot a disgusted glare at Guren as she sighed secretly jealous that the dead-sexy enemy was seducing her commander. A blue glow of chakra surrounded Naruto and then it enveloped Guren as well. She spoke up, "Yes…you can offer me power." Everyone gasped at her comment.

Finally Naruto stopped and offered Guren a hand up. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. She had a blushing face as she yelled for all to hear, "I am yours to command my Lord Pein! Everyone Bow!" All of the shinobi and civilians present obeyed the order without question. Kimimaro and Tayuya however had not bowed yet. The white haired man spoke up as he coughed, "Guren, are you insane? He's the enemy. Orochimaru-sama would have your head for this!"

Tayuya chimed in, "Bitch just because you got a crush on this asshole doesn't mean that he's in charge of this place!" Naruto turned to Tayuya and began to laugh, "Ah yes…Tayuya was it? You certainly did have quite the mouth on you back then…I see nothing has changed." She shot a nasty glare at Naruto as she started to run at him with her fist raised. Naruto easily grabbed her fist as she tried to punch him in the face. She felt a strange overpowering presence around him as he held her fist. She stared into his eyes and found herself trapped in their seducing gaze. "Who are you, Pein?" she asked as her anger completely dissipated from the look he was giving her. Kimimaro himself began to wonder the same thing as he felt himself being captivated by the mysterious man known as Pein.

Naruto laughed as pulled his mask down to his neck revealing his face. Everyone was enamored by the sight of his face. Tayuya saw the whisker marks and saw the flashbacks of a blonde haired boy in an orange jump-suit, "YOU'RE…" Naruto covered her mouth as she was about to shout his name. She resisted violently at first but saw no way to overpower Naruto. Naruto looked at Kimimaro and Guren, "You three come with me…we shall discuss this in private."

Guren turned to the large crowd and shouted, "Show's over everybody! Return to your stations and jobs!" The large crowd began to disperse as the three sound nin followed Naruto inside the large building followed by Haku and Zabuza. Many of the Anbu, jounin, or even desk secretaries bowed low as Naruto walked by. One man even went as far as to shout, "All hail Pein!"

The six shinobi finally entered a large room that Naruto assumed was Orochimaru's main office. He walked in and sat at the main chair exemplifying the fact that he owned everyone and everything in the room. Zabuza stood next to him while Haku pulled up a chair and sat directly to his other side.

The three sound nin sat in the chairs adjacent to the main one. A long silence filled the room before Tayuya began, "I remember you Pein…or should I say Naruto Uzumaki?" Kimimaro's eyes shot open as he looked at Tayuya for conformation, "You mean to tell me that he's that blond kid who defeated Sasuke in the Valley of the End?" She smiled as she nodded. The red head gave him another glance and began to speak, "We were able to deal with your friends…they decided to flee. Me and Kimimaro were the only survivors unfortunately. Still though, we did witness your battle with Sasuke."

Kimimaro nodded his head as he spoke, "Yes…it was quite impressive. Unlike the trash that followed you on that mission, you were the one who did everything. We didn't dare to attack you after that display." Naruto held his hand up, "Don't flatter me…that was a terrible day for me. It was the day I realized how much I hated the world." Everyone in the room watched Naruto as he had a distant sad look on his face. Tayuya stared at him before asking, "Why did you leave…if you don't mind me asking?"

Naruto continued to remain silent as the group traded confused shrugs at his depressed face. Guren looked at him and calmly added, "Don't answer her Pein…I mean Naruto. It's probably something he's not proud of Tayuya." The red head shot the woman a glare as she disregarded her comment, "I want to know damn it! You seemed so intent on bringing back SasuGay (LOL I had to do it sorry Sasuke) and then you leave the village right afterwards…there must be some reason why."

Naruto sighed as he looked at the red head, "My reasons for leaving don't matter…my goals now are the only things that matter. You three shall pledge yourselves to my cause and help me kill Kabuto and Orochimaru." Zabuza leaned against the wall with a smile on through his masked face, 'God I love that kid…just walks in and takes over a whole village with no effort, and then simply demands their leaders serve him.'

Haku spoke up skeptically, "How can you trust them Naruto-kun? They are Orochimaru's most powerful and loyal subordinates." The jinchuuriki stood up from his chair and walked over to Guren. She immediately stood up and knelt at his feet as she began to speak, "I would be honored to serve you Naruto…in any way you would ever want." Haku rolled her eyes at Guren's veiled sex invitation.

Kimimaro stood up and said, "I can't betray Orochimaru…he was my savior and was there for me during all the dark times of my life." Tayuya glanced at him annoyed, "Stop being such a pussy Kimimaro! Orochimaru sacrificed people for his own ends…He can't promise you anything anymore…but Naruto-kun can." Guren looked at Tayuya and started to chuckle, "Naruto-kun is it? I never thought I'd see the day Tayuya uses honorifics."

Haku cut into the conversation with an annoyed huff, "So are you two joining or not? If you don't Naruto-kun will slay you and we'll be on our way." Zabuza began to laugh as he added, "Yeah we really need to catch four eyes and cut off his legs." Naruto looked over to the two survivors of the sound five and they both knelt down to him. Kimimaro began, "I can't deny your power Naruto-sama…your generosity is undeniable and you are worthy for me to serve."

The genjutsu master bowed her head and spoke, "I'll follow you as well. From the things I've heard and seen about you, you are one stone cold badass…I'm your girl Naruto-kun." Tayuya blushed as she made eye contact with Naruto, and quickly looked away. Guren looked over with a slight glare at that as she raged in her head, 'His girl my ass…you better watch yourself red. I'm the alpha female here!'

Haku's mind was running along a similar thought process, 'Shit…now I have competition for him. I will murder these bitches if any of them touch him.' Zabuza looked around the room at all of the kunoichi and laughed to himself, 'Oh shit…I'm going to write a best seller to rival Icha Icha Paradise if this kind of sexual tension keeps flying around.'

Naruto looked around at the five shinobi and nodded, "Very well, Otogakure belongs to me now. This will be one of our bases of operation." Guren walked over to Naruto, "I know where Kabuto is." The orange haired shinobi looked at her for a moment waiting for an answer, "He was here several hours before you came…told me he was heading for Amegakure to meet up with Orochimaru." Naruto smiled as he pulled his mask back on, "You three are coming with us…Orochimaru shall see his last day soon."

Kimimro spoke up in a worried voice, "I'm not sure if you've heard this or not, but Ame recently had all of its leaders wiped out. They say that Hanzo was single-handedly defeated by a woman named Konan." Mixed looks of interest or confusion were prevalent. Haku spoke up, "Hanzo the Salamander? Somebody killed him one on one?"

Tayuya answered her, "Kabuto was talking to us about it this morning. He said that she battled him a few miles from the village…turned everything within five square miles into a charred crater. She took his breathing mask as a trophy…it was the only thing left from what I hear." Guren nodded as she cut in to finish, "The people of Ame call her the Angel of Death…I've only seen her one time in my travels with Orochimaru. She wasn't what you'd be expecting…she is barely into her twenties." Everyone shot her looks of disbelief before Naruto said, "If she gets in my way she'll die as well."

They all nodded at their leader's unwavering resolve as he began to speak again, "By the way…don't call me by my actual name in public. I want to keep my identity a secret from Konoha." The five shinobi followed their leader out of the office as he began to leave. Upon exiting the building he found a large gathering of shinobi surrounding it.

A random jounin spoke up, "This man has Guren-sama under some kind mind controlling jutsu! I cannot allow you to leave!" Guren looked at the man and started to laugh, "I don't know if you caught the memo but Pein is in charge of Oto now." The man looked shocked as Naruto walked up to him, "Is he 'THE PEIN?'" Naruto sighed as he stared at the man and he began to enunciate for all around to hear, "I am assuming control of this village. Your leaders have already pledged their loyalty to me. Join my cause and be a part of the revolution…or join Orochimaru on dead on a pike when I find him."

Everyone present bowed low and the jounin even took it a step further by pledging, "You're reputation is an accurate one Lord Pein…We the people of Oto shall stand with your cause, even against our former leader Orochimaru." Naruto smiled as he began to take his leave of Otogakure. The citizens continued to bow as Naruto left through the south gate with his followers.

XXXXX

A white haired man had been watching the scene through a spyglass the entire time and grimaced in horror as the people of Oto once again bowed to Pein. "Oh shit…Orochimaru is going to be pissed about this." He began to run away from the village at high speed as he dared not look back in fear of Pein capturing him. As he passed under a tree he was stopped by the sound of a familiar voice, "You seem worried Kabuto…has the plan been compromised?"

The white haired man turned to see a familiar plant like man standing behind him, "Zetsu…what is it you want?" the plant maw on his head opened as Zetsu replied plainly, "I need to know if everything is going according to plan…Tobi won't like it if you fail him again." Kabuto looked over his shoulder worried, "There has been a strange occurrence in Oto…it seems Pein didn't destroy the village as we had predicted. I saw all of Orochimaru's followers bowing to him…my guess is he took over the village."

The normally calm Zetsu had a concerned look on his face, "That is a very unsettling turn of events…I will inform Tobi, but I still need you to continue to Ame as planned…this may still be salvageable." Kabuto held his head down in fear, "Konan can offer me some protection I hope? I just saw him walk in and take over Otogakure in an hour, and there is no way I am fighting him…"

Zetsu shrugged at Kabuto's fear carelessly, "Do your job and you'll survive…if you fail then I will be sent to eat you." Zetsu's plant maw closed as he forged back into a nearby tree. Kabuto didn't take a second to think as he began to run southwest. His mind wandered as he ran, 'So, Pein has the Rinnegan…Tobi's plan may work, but I think he seriously underestimates what Pein is capable of…Uchiha pride I suppose.'

ALL RIGHT! there is chapter six for you guys. I'd hate to be all stereotypical and throw in a time skip, but I didn't feel like writing three years of filler chapters…and I don't want to write lemons with a fourteen year old. Just imagine him in Snow Country if you want lol. By the way, don't worry…Koyuki-hime will be making an appearance in the near future. Drama makes everything more fun. Am I right?

**Anyways, some brief points I want to go over real quick**: Sorry for the Sakura bashing, but it needed to happen…bitch was asking for it. There won't be too much more of it, just enough for her to straighten up and stop being a…well you get the idea.

As for all of rookie nine minus one becoming jounin, I just want to mention one thing. With the chaos around Konoha, its forces have been spread thin making the need for more jounin necessary. Plus rookie nine was the cream of the crop as far as genin were, so I see no reason why they all wouldn't become jounin…even Sakura, though it shames me to admit it.

I'll bet nobody here was expecting me to bring Guren in…C'mon you can admit you found that sexy. For those of you who don't know who she is, she was in the second shippuden filler arc I think…episode 89 if I remember correctly. Anyways, I always thought that her crystal jutsus were cool, so then I figured why not throw in something new.

I had every intention of bringing Tayuya and Kimimaro into the little group for a while, and I'm glad I finally got to do it. We all know we love the foul-mouthed red head. Kimimaro is another awesome character that I was sad to see die in the anime…so problem solved LOL. As for his illness…pssshhh whatevah, I'll explain that later.

As for Konan, I know we all can't wait to see her in action. She is one of my favorites, so she will have a dominant role in the story. Sorry I didn't put her in this chapter, but I wanted to butter you guys up with Jiraiya's sad story so the battle between her and Naruto will be enjoyable. Two former pupils face off…AW yeah

Fear not for our favorite Suna trio will be in the next chapter as well…GOGOGO!

Well that's pretty much all I wanted to say. If you have any questions feel free to ask, also if you didn't like go ahead and flame. I'm fireproof and I love attention…good of bad. Hope you enjoyed.


	7. Chapter 7

Well this chapter will hopefully live up to all the hype that I've been feeding you guys. Gonna be lots of action in this chapter. For the Konan fans this chapter is for you…and me lol. Nothing else I really felt like mentioning, so onward with the chapter. Konan is OP, but whaveter.

**Chapter 7: God's Angel**

Close to the borders of fire country, a group was making their way through the forest at moderate speed. Among this party of ninja included the former rookie nine from Konoha, Kakashi, Yamato, Anko, Shizune, and Neji. Following the masked silver-haired man in unison, they had made decent progress through the chaotic borders of the country without detection. Kakashi raised his arm signaling them to stop, "Wait guys…somebody is coming." The large group suddenly stopped as they were intercepted by a group of Sunagakure shinobi.

The Suna nin were silent for a moment staring the group down. Finally, a man stepped up who had two purple streaks down his face and brown hair. "Ah, I heard that Konoha was sending a strike team to Ame to assassinate Konan. The Kazekage would like to pay his regards by offering his aid." Several looks of relief shot through the konoha shinobi as the two sides eased up. The brown haired man spoke again, "Who's in charge here? We'd like to join your forces for the assault." Kakashi stepped forward and held his hand up with a serious look on his face, "We won't turn down help; most of my men assume we're going on a suicide mission. By the way do you have any more intel on this Konan?"

The brown haired man sighed as he looked down, "We were hoping to ask you the same thing…the only thing Gaara-sama, our Kazekage, has learned is that she planned on cutting off Earth, Wind, and Fire Countries from each other to mount separate offensives." Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow, "She must be pretty arrogant to think she could take down of the five great shinobi nations."

The man looked away from Kakashi and groaned, "Our spies say she was conquering pieces of Earth Country. If that's the case, I assume she means to take Iwa out first." Sakura spoke up into the conversation, "Hey I know you! You're Kankuro right?" Kankuro looked at the pink haired girl and laughed, "Yeah that's me…but I'll sign your autograph later bubblegum babe." Sakura shot him a cheap smile. Yamato cut in, "Should we set up camp for the night Kakashi? It'd be a good idea to pool our knowledge and formulate a plan." The silver haired jounin nodded and the two groups began to unpack and set up tents into a camp.

Kakashi had a map pulled out and was sitting next to Kankuro as he went over the plan with the group, "Ok Tsunade's Anbu plan on going in the first wave and clearing a path through the city for us. They have set up a perimeter around our entry point near the southern part of the village here." Kakashi pointed to another map of Amegakure, "If we move fast and stay together, we can take this Konan out. No heroics from anybody though, if she took out Hanzo she could kill any one of us alone."

Kiba began to speak, "Shit…I should have just stayed on the tracker squad with my sister…" An amused chorus of laughter followed his comment before Shikamaru entered, "Yes, you're correct in assuming that we can get there fast Kakashi, but what about her bodyguards? I'm assuming she has some." The one-eyed jounin looked back and him and replied, "That will be an issue, but that's why we need to stick together…I'm not sure what this Konan is capable of, but I know for a fact that it'll take several of us to fight her and the rest hold off her guards."

Ino decided to give input, "Maybe I can use my mind transfer technique or Shikamaru can subdue her with his shadow jutsus." Anko began to laugh at her comment, "Good luck with that…I doubt you'd live long enough to do that technique." Ino shot back a quick glare before sighing, "I suppose not, but we need to think this through." Shikamaru nodded as he spoke up, "My Kagemane no Jutsu(Shadow Possession/Imitation) is our best means to subdue and eliminate her." Kakashi nodded as he continued, "I agree, but you won't be able to get it off unless we have two or three experienced people draw her attention away from you."

Shino began to speak much to everybody's surprise, "I don't like this plan…what do we do if it fails?" Sakura cut in desperately, "It's not going to fail you downer…" Shino pulled off his glasses and gave the group a worried look, "It's just…my father died to bring this information to Konoha…" Looks of shock were evident as he looked at Kakashi, "You're going to have one chance…I doubt our odds tremendously don't hesitate to go all out on her." Many in the groups nodded and others gave the man a sad look as he put his glasses back on, "I will avenge my father or die trying…let me be the one to draw her attention."

Kakashi looked flabbergasted as he flat out stared at the man, "No way…if anyone has to do it, I'll be the guinea pig…If I die the group falls to Yamato." The morale of the large attack force began to plummet at the thought of Kakashi dying. Kankuro spoke up, "You guys won't be alone…I'd gladly die to secure our alliance. It's what my brother would want." A serious feeling of dread and self-sacrifice was sweeping through the hopeless group before Anko broke the tension, "Shit, you guys need to lighten the fuck up. Ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy? If you keep telling yourself you're gonna die…guess what? YOU WILL!"

Several nodded and Kakashi backed up the statement, "She's right, everybody! Just hope for the best and we'll see this mission through." Morale was starting to climb again as several of the Suna nin and Konoha nin began to mingle and converse. The group all sat around a large fire enjoying what would be for some their last meal.

Anko began to tune out the conversations convening between the two groups as her mind started to wander, '_I wonder If I'll ever see Naruto again…Fuck why didn't I go with him when he left? Now I'm stuck on some suicide mission with these hopeless idiots_.' Kankuro sat next to her and had a playboy look on his face, "So, what's your name Miss…" Anko shot him a death glare as she was stricken from her thoughts. "I'm Miss Go Fuck Off and Die." She answered him much to his displeasure. He gave her a confused look as he sighed, "I'm just trying to lighten your mood up. You seem a bit distant compared to the others." She looked at him for a moment before groaning in response, "Yeah I have just been thinking about a certain somebody."

Kankuro raised an eyebrow as he immediately caught what she meant, "Oh? And is this somebody thinking of you too?" Anko began to blush as she looked away, "I…I hope so." He began to chuckle at her embarrassment as he spoke, "Ah okay, so you're just worried you won't ever get a chance to tell him how you feel?" She looked at him in surprise at his psychological evaluation, "…Yeah how did you know?" Kankuro shot her another player look as he laughed to himself, "Dr. Kankuro is the Love-guru…I can tell when the babes are distracted." She shot him a skeptical look as she retorted, "I bet it works really well for you."

He turned his head in irritation, "Hey now…no sarcasm Miss Go Fuck Off and Die." She laughed at his foolish remark before he sat down next to her. "Well, in all seriousness if you really love this guy, then nothing is going to happen if you just sit around and wait for him. After you get back from this mission you should go tell him first thing." (Don't make fun of Kankuro the love-guru…Dr. Phil 2 imo)

She smiled as she pictured Naruto…and then she pictured ripping off his clothes and raping him. A beaming grin came to her face before Kankuro added, "My work is done…by the way if things don't work out with your mystery guy, then I'm single and looking for love." She shot him an amused look as she replied, "In your dreams hot-shot. Thanks for the talk though." Kankuro smiled as he walked away.

Unfortunately for Anko, Hinata had overheard her conversation and decided to pester her for information, "So…Anko-san, tell me about this mystery guy of yours." She looked at the Hyuuga hesitantly as she began to think, '_You're the last person I'd ever tell, you stalker…_' Hinata looked at Anko expecting some kind of answer before she sighed, "Well…it's kind of a secret and I don't want everybody knowing about it before I tell him how I feel." Hinata gave her an excited look as she complained, "C'mon, Anko you know you want to tell me. Is he in our group now?" She looked at the blue haired Hyuuga in irritation before she said, "It's none of your damn business…but no he isn't. I missed my chance and now's he's gone."

Hinata began to piece things together in her mind, "So he's not in Konoha?" Anko reluctantly nodded her head as Hinata began to frown, "You mean…you can't be serious Anko…that's just wrong." She shot a fierce look at Hinata before replying, "Nothing's wrong with it…I'm in love with him…what's wrong is you lack any kind of spine to stop me. I understand him…you don't." Hinata for the first time ever had an angry look on her face before she retorted venomously, "You're a sick whore…how dare you try and steal my man." Anko began to laugh as she leered at Hinata darkly, "Last I checked, you don't know a thing about him…oh wait you do because you stalked him every day because you lacked the backbone to do anything." The blue haired girl stood up and activated her Byakugun.

Anko laughed as she stood up and pulled out a kunai. The loud camp began to get quiet as they had recently noticed Anko draw a weapon. "I'm gonna cut that pretty little face of yours up you Hyuuga bitch!" Hinata angrily began to shout back, "You fucked with the wrong bitch you home-wrecking slut!" Anko began to laugh as she replied, "All's fair in love and war." Suddenly Neji jumped in between the two of them and yelled, "What the hell is going on over here? You girls need to calm down!"

Anko huffed as she began to walk to her tent ignoring all the weird looks people were giving her as she zipped it up. Neji turned to Hinata, "Hinata…what were you two arguing about?" Hinata gave him an icy glare as she coldy stated, "Nothing…don't talk to me." Everyone was shocked to see the normally calm and kind Hyuuga girl in a bad mood. Sasuke looked at her face and inwardly contemplated, '_Nothing gets her that emotional…except Naruto_.' The raven haired Uchiha looked to Hinata as she sat down at the campfire and stared into the burning embers blankly. '_Anko must have said something about Naruto…that's the only explanation for her to outburst like this_.'

Many in the group continued to go back to their conversations but some were still staring at Hinata. Among this group included most of rookie nine. Sakura stood up and sat next to Hinata as she put her hand over the girl's back, "If you wanna talk to somebody in private about this, I'll listen Hinata." Sasuke nearly choked on his dinner he had started eating at her comment, '_If you and her end up alone she'll eviscerate you Sakura…_' Then a smile crossed Sasuke's face as he watched the scene unfold.

Hinata looked at Sakura with a cold gaze as she plainly answered, "Yes…maybe that would be a good idea. Lead on Sakura…" The two Kunoichi made their way a distance from the camp and Sasuke started to beam in laughter as saw the figures disappearing into the forest. "What's so funny Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked curiously before the Uchiha shrugged, "I don't know." The shadow user gave him a cold stare before waving off his comment and going to his tent. Kiba sat next to Sasuke and began to laugh. Sasuke looked at him and said, "I bet she fucks Sakura up…" Kiba looked at him and thought for a moment, "Nah she'll go easy on her…I'll bet you."

Meanwhile a good one hundred yards from the camp two figures were sitting beneath a tree. "So Hinata…tell me what's wrong?" Sakura asked genuinely as Hinata stared at the ground. The Hyuuga girl sighed deeply as she asked Sakura a question, "Sakura…did you ever have any feelings for Naruto? Was there any reason why you constantly rejected him and cruelly used him to your own ends?" The pink haired girl shot a surprised look at Hinata, "What's that got to do with anything?" Hinata stood up and began to raise her voice, "Answer me!" Sakura cowered under Hinata's rage filled posture, "I…didn't at first. Though Tsunade-sama brought up a good point to me…ever since he's been gone I've kind of missed him. Are you still mad about me getting him in trouble?"

Hinata slapped Sakura in the face and sent her to the ground, "He's too good for you…I never understood what he saw in you. The only thing I've ever thought of you as is a worthless Sasuke fan-girl." Sakura looked horrified as she sat up and felt the bruised imprint on her face, "I didn't mean for it to happen this way…I do care about him, but I guess I just never noticed until now." Hinata looked at the girl coldly as she stated, "He could have made you happy…as much as it would have pained me to see him with you, at least he would have been happy. But you broke his innocent heart and his dream for Sasuke…and I don't know if you caught the memo…but Sasuke hates you more than I do."

Sakura began to cry as she held her head against the tree, "I'd give anything to see him one more time…and to tell him how sorry I am…about everything." Hinata looked annoyed as she interjected, "You missed your one and only chance with him…if I ever see you lay a hand on him again I'll impale you and hang you in front of the Hyuuga mansion as a trophy." Sakura looked down as she spoke softly, "I guess that old saying is true…'You never appreciate what you have until it's gone.'"

Hinata sighed as she looked down at Sakura, "I doubt I could ever find it in myself to forgive you unless he came back Sakura…" The pink haired girl stood up and looked at her sorrowfully, "Maybe we can look for him after this is over…by the way what was going on with you and Anko?" Hinata looked at her for a moment and glanced around as if she were being watched. Finally the girl spoke up, "It was about Naruto…" Sakura gasped as she inquired further, "What did she say?" Hinata balled her fists in anger and punched a nearby tree shattering it in half, "Nothing you need to concern yourself with…let's go back to camp." Sakura watched Hinata fluster up deep in thought and went over the possibilities in her mind, '_Hmmm…maybe Anko knows something about Naruto…but wait didn't Hinata call Anko a slut_?' A look of shock washed over the pink haired girl's face as she stopped in her tracks, "She likes him too huh?"

Hinata turned with an annoyed look on her face and calmly replied, "Yes…but like I said he is no longer your concern." She continued walking back to camp. As the two came back Sasuke had a frown on his face sad to see the bruise that Sakura had was the only injury, "She went easy on her…you win the bet Kiba." The Inuzuka man cheered as he took money from Sasuke's hand. Sakura didn't bother to process the event as she decided to go to bed.

XXXXX

Naruto had made quick progress with his large group through Fire Country as they headed to Amegakure. Of course it wasn't as uneventful as he would have liked. His companions were restlessly arguing over nonsense as they neared their destination. "Naruto-kun…what do intend to do if Konan interferes?" Zabuza spoke up curiously as he was bored of all the estrogen filled topics. Naruto looked to the swordsman and he shrugged, "I doubt it will matter even if she does…even though she defeated Hanzo, she won't stand a chance against me."

Guren broke away from her 'girl-related' topic with Tayuya and spoke up, "I have no doubt in your abilities Naruto…but she isn't a pushover…even Orochimaru fears her." Naruto stopped walking and turned to look at Guren who wore a distressed look on her face. He walked over to her and she backed into a tree, "Is my Guren-chan worried about me? How sweet…perhaps you want another demonstration of my power?" The woman blushed heavily and placed her hands on his waist and leaned her head back, "Maybe I do…" A loud cough could be heard coming from the group behind them, "Ahem…we don't have time for that Naruto-kun…Guren will just have to take my word for your power."

Naruto laughed as he began to walk again followed by Zabuza and a very bored Kimimaro leaving the girls trailing behind the two. Haku shot a smirk at the older woman sticking her tongue out making her glare angrily at Haku. The crystal user began to whisper venomously, "If you ever interrupt us again I'll cut that tongue of yours out…" Haku laughed as she shot back, "Maybe you didn't catch the memo here, but Naruto-kun is my man…not yours." Tayuya entered the quiet conversation, "Sorry bitches… you could tell by the way he was looking at me that I'm the best candidate for that slot."

Guren looked at her and laughed, "The only slot you're going to be filling is your own with that flute of yours." Haku laughed as she added, "Yeah well that's what your crystals are for too bitch…clearly you two are new and don't understand how things work around here…Zabuza and I have been following Naruto for three years now." Tayuya looked at her briefly and smiled, "Yeah and you still haven't closed the deal from what I understand." Haku looked flustered as she looked at Tayuya angrily, "You'll pay for that one bitch…just you wait." The red head laughed and looked back to Naruto staring at his defined body through his anbu attire. "Where did you guys get anbu gear from anyways?" Tayuya asked confused as she continued staring at Naruto.

Zabuza turned around answered much to her surprise, "We got those from some Kirigakure anbu who decided to commit suicide by attacking us." She looked at him and laughed as Haku stated, "Yeah…Zabuza seemed to have enjoyed the encounter if I recall." The masked swordsman laughed, "Yeah well those mother fuckers deserve it…I'm going back to Kirigakure once this is over."

Kimimaro looked at Zabuza and sighed, "My clan was wiped out trying to attack that that village…The Bloody Mist is a very dangerous place." Zabuza turned to look at Naruto with beaming eyes, "Yeah well you guys haven't seen what Naruto is capable of…I remember three years ago in Wave Country he destroyed an entire coastline with one jutsu…it was crazy." Kimimaro looked unconvinced as he stated, "I seriously doubt that…I'd have to see it for myself. Not even Orochimaru could do things like that." Naruto turned towards the man and gave him a flat stare, "Your religious zealotry towards that fiend is starting to make you look suspicious to me…I will tell you this one time. If you have any thoughts of betraying me, I will destroy you and your village with that jutsu."

Kimimaro gave Naruto a sharp nod and a worried look as he turned to continue walking. "I can understand your hatred for Orochimaru, but you must understand that he has done nothing but good things for me. It shames me to betray him like this." Naruto looked at Kimimaro again with a displeased look, "I'm offering you something better…not a place in some weak secondary shinobi village taking orders from a maniacal power-hungry ruler whose only concerns are his own. I'm giving you a chance to fulfill your dreams in my service. I can make the nations tremble before me and grant a boon to all of my most loyal subjects…tell me would you turn that down? If you have a request I will make time to hear it."

The white haired man thought for a moment before he spoke his mind, "Orochimaru said the same thing…how am I to take your word over his? I am dying…as you know. Being the last of my clan gives me a sense of obligation to restore their honor." Naruto placed his hand on the man's shoulder and looked him in the eyes, "I am going places others only dare to dream. My name shall be remembered for what I am doing. My legacy shall be written in stone and my power shall be felt even by the stars themselves…Stand with me Kimimaro and be a part of that legacy…let yourself become one of my champions…and see yourself remembered for all time."

The white haired man was taken aback by the inspiring speech. Naruto's promise of power was undeniable to the group that traveled with him. He stared into the Rinnegan eyes of his leader for a moment before he responded, "I had once dreamed as a child…to become a legend…a hero. I've never thought about trying to do it…until now. You shall help me achieve my dream…and I shall serve as one of your champions…I am the Ashen Knight!" Kimimaro's resolve echoed clearly unwavering as he formed two blades from his arms and crossed them as he bowed to Naruto. Everyone with the exception of Naruto was staring in shock at his change of heart. Naruto offered him a hand and the man took it. The jinchuuriki pat him on the back and continued to walk.

Zabuza looked at the scene in awe, '_Those things he said…they seem so distant yet so close at the same time. He is so sure of himself…so dedicated…invincible. Nothing is impossible…maybe we truly can change this world_.'

The girls were staring at their leader with even more infatuation than before, if it was even possible. Guren smiled as she managed to squeeze in between Kimimaro and Naruto to stand by him. She looked over at him with a smile, "My dream is only to follow you forever…and to serve you in 'anyway' possible." Naruto looked over to the dreamy eyed woman and smiled back. He put his arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear, "I'll make sure you live up to those words later…see how loyal you really are." The woman practically squealed with delight as she stared at him, "Your wish is my 'pleasure.'"

Haku broke the two up and pushed Guren away as she stood next to Naruto. She looked at him with a grin and spoke, "Don't forget…you owe me a favor Naruto-kun." He laughed as he nodded his head. Kimimaro was standing next to Zabuza now and began to speak to the man, "It seems Naruto-sama is very popular among the ladies." Zabuza looked at him and laughed as he nodded, "Yeah, you should see this guy play off the smooth criminal thing…it's so funny. I remember this one time in Snow Country he walked into the Daimyo's palace and demanded rooms for the night in exchange for their lives…so we all get separate rooms when we went to bed for the night and I hear a bit of noise from Naruto's. So I go and check it out and I walked in on the Daimyo's daughter pounding into him."

Kimimaro had a plain look on his face for a second before his eyes shot open, "That is a bit too much information Zabuza…" The masked man laughed as he continued, "Yeah, it was so funny because Haku was pissed…nearly killed the woman. But that's not the reason I told you that…you see I've recently started writing in the journal here…" Zabuza pulled out a journal. Kimimaro looked at it and read the title out loud, "Chronicles of the Super Pimp," he looked over to Zabuza with a confused look on his face, "Is there a reason why you're writing this?"

The masked man nodded his head, "Of course…you see I figure I can make a fortune if I write down all these stories about Naruto's love life…one to rival Icha Icha Paradise!" Naruto looked over at Zabuza brought away from the female attention and asked, "You're doing what?" the masked swordsman laughed nervously as he replied, "Nothing, I was just talking to Kimimaro about Icha Icha Paradise…"

Naruto laughed as he spoke up to the group, "All right guys enough fooling around; we have to get there soon if we're going to catch Kabuto." Everyone instantly dropped into a serious mood and the group began to follow their leader at high speed.

XXXXX

In the city of Amegakure a certain azure haired woman was sitting on what resembled a throne as she leaned back with a bored look on her face. Konan had been ruling Amegakure for over two years. In that time she had wreaked nothing but havoc for the other shinobi nations as she aggressively assimilated smaller countries' territory and monopolized most of the trade around the western part of the continent. On more than one occasion she would think about what Madara had asked her to do. Despite his request, she found life pretty comfortable after she established herself as dictator. She hadn't even bothered with Takigakure like Madara had wanted, and had not even made an attempt to look for Pein. Though the best thing she had done for Akatsuki was cause a beacon of chaos that drew attention away from the rest of them.

She had however heard of disturbing reports about Pein and the trail of death that followed him. '_Be perceptive girl. You'll know what to do when the time comes…Fuck you Madara_,' she thought as she glanced around her throne room with a bored displeased look. Her mind wandered at the idea of Pein, '_I want to meet Pein…if I could get him on my side I'd be unstoppable_." A man suddenly ran in the room with a worried look on his face, "Lady Konan, we have seen a large gathering of Konoha and Suna shinobi at the borders near Fire Country…what are your orders?" Her amber eyes glanced at him emotionlessly as she went back to her daydream about Pein. He continued to stand there awaiting some kind of response. He watched her confused as she pulled a paper out of her pocket.

She was twirling a piece of paper in her hands and used her chakra to fold it into an airplane and it flew at the man. He caught it and looked at what it said. Konan watched him for a minute before she demanded, "Read it…" The man nervously began to open the paper as he shook with fear, "This is an ultimatum sent to Konan of Amegakure. By order of the five great shinobi nations you are to surrender immediately and relinquish your power and submit to the obedience of the five kages, or you shall force our hands." He looked at Konan confused as she twirled a kunai around her fingers, "What do you want me to do?"

She looked at him annoyed and threw the kunai at him and it slashed his face leaving a huge cut. Blood began to pour down the horrified man's face before she stood up, "You shall do your job…and if you don't wipe that look off your face I'm going to kill you. Cowards are not accepted in my presence…be gone." The man nodded as bowed to the floor, "Of course Konan-sama…forgive my weakness." She gave him a pitiless look, "Soon those arrogant fools are going to die! They will all kiss my feet before I kick their skulls in and stomp their eyes out…Get out of my sight you pussy." The man got up and ran out of the room faster than the yellow flash himself could have.

Konan paced around the room staring out the window. She saw a familiar shadow come out of the wall and it came into focus. "It seems you have been enjoying yourself Konan…Tobi thinks you're starting to get a bit…comfortable here. Don't forget your true purpose." She looked at a plant maw on the figure open revealing a split down the middle man, "Tobi can eat a dick for all I care…besides, I'm doing what he wanted anyways. So the fools are on their way into our trap I assume?"

Zetsu nodded as he continued, "Yes, Shizune informed me that the Hokage sent a platoon of Anbu and a strike team of jounin. Although you haven't exactly been given the details of the trap…I have also made sure Kabuto lured Pein here…he will intercept them and most likely wipe them out for us." She looked at Zetsu confused, "What? Why did you bring Pein here? Is this one of Tobi's plans?" Zetsu remained silent as a third figure walked into the room. The figure was a man in glasses known only as Kabuto. She looked at the man icily as she restated the question, "Did Tobi tell you to lure Pein here? You are a fucking idiot…" Kabuto had a concerned look at Konan's comment, as he looked to Zetsu, "You told me she would offer protection from Pein, Zetsu."

The plant man's dark half began to speak, "You have served your purpose well Kabuto…but your services are no longer required." Kabuto had a horrified look on his face as he turned only in time to see Konan stab him in the neck. She dug the blade around for a moment before slicing all the way across beheading Kabuto completely. Konan wiped the blood from her blade as she looked at Zetsu bored, "Bringing Pein here was a mistake…I can handle those Konoha fools without much trouble, but the Rinnegan is a different story…"

Zetsu looked at her for a moment and replied, "Didn't he ask you to go undercover and learn about Pein?" She shot an angry glare at him, "How do you know about that?" He looked at her plainly and answered, "I know everything that goes on…I'm just that good." She roared furiously at him, "Tell Tobi to go fuck off…I am staying in Ame until we do our takeover." Zetsu sighed as he simply nodded, "Very well…would you like me to quote that to him?" She smirked at his hidden joke.

"I'll take care of Pein…and these Konoha pencil pushing pussies! You got your report now go." She waved off Zetsu and he left without another word. Konan looked at Kabuto's bloody body and just laughed at it, '_What a fool…rule number one about being a ninja is never trust your friends_.' Konan picked up Kabuto's head and placed it on a pike next to her throne as she sat back down. Loud noises could be heard outside as Amegakure jounin ran into the room panting. The group saw the headless body on the floor and looked over to their leader in shock. She casually spoke, "He was a liability. People who fail to serve their purpose shall end up decorating my throne room. You…take that corpse out of my throne room." A jounin began to drag the body out.

Looks of fear were evident on the battle-hardened jounin. Konan stood up and looked at them with amusement, "Is there some reason you needed to speak with me?" They traded worried glances as one man fearfully spoke up, "Konoha nin have breached the walls to the village…they are on their way as we speak!" She looked at the man and sighed, "Calm down…I will deal with them. Fear is the greatest weapon of any shinobi, don't let this pathetic attack weaken your mental fortitude." They all seemed to relax at their leader's calm attitude compared to her usual bloodthirsty manner. She walked over to a wall and pulled off a mask that could only be recognized as Hanzo's breathing mask. Konan began to put it on much to the surprise of the jounin present.

"They feared Hanzo…they shall fear him in death as well!" The group bowed as Konan turned to them with the breathing mask of the legendary Hanzo on. One man spoke up, "Long live the Amekage!" She nodded as she heard a large explosion coming from outside again. The Ame jounin all jumped in front of Konan as she sat back down on her throne and crossed her legs.

Suddenly a large group of Konoha and Suna nin poured into the room all with weapons drawn in battle stances. One man who Konan assumed was the leader of the group had silver hair and a mask. He had one Sharingan eye as well. The shinobi all stared at Konan in wonder as she stood up and walked over to them, "Well…isn't this cute. A bunch of wannabe heroes working so hard to come meet me in person…If this is the best that Konoha has then I might take it next. How pathetic," she laughed as she inspected the rag tag team of jounin in front of her with little interest. "Seems Suna has a death wish as well."

Not taking kindly to her condescending manner, Sakura spoke up, "We've come to kill you Konan! Konohagakure is the greatest shinobi village for a reason, and you're a fool if you presume you can defeat us!" Konan looked at the pink haired girl and began to laugh, "Well you and I must be talking about a different Konohas if they allowed a pink haired Barbie bitch to become a jounin." Sakura gave the woman a glare as she violently retorted, "You've got some nerve you masked freak…you wretch!" Konan had a brief flashback of a similar dolled up woman calling her a wretch and she boiled in anger, "What did you just call me?"

Konan was releasing enough killer intent to drown the room in fear as she felt her anger rising. Konan's arm shot out a barrage of paper that flew around Sakura and dragged her across the room. The woman looked at the pink haired girl suspended in air wrapped in paper. Everyone present in the room was too afraid to move as Konan pulled out a Kunai and looked at Sakura deviously, "I would just kill you, but it'd be far too merciful…no I want you to suffer!" Konan began to slice across Sakura's cheek leaving blood trailing down the girl's face making her cry out in agony.

Shikamaru began to go through several handseals, "Kagemane no Jusu!" and suddenly shadows caught Konan in the jutsu. Shikamaru smirked as he boasted, "Seems you weren't as powerful as they said…or as smart." The woman looked at him mildly amused and began to mock him, "OH NO! I'm caught in a shadow imitation jutsu! Whatever shall I do?" The others looked shocked as she began to disperse into hundreds of sheets of paper and reform behind Shikamaru. She stabbed in the back before he had a chance to react. Everyone gasped in horror as the man fell over bleeding. Konan casually released Sakura as she created more paper and began sending a barrage of explosive tags at the group.

Most of them dodged the assaulting tags although a large portion of the Suna nin weren't so lucky and fell over dead. Everyone looked shocked as they looked at the injured Shikamaru. Konan began to laugh as she looked to her jounin, "Deal with them!" The group did as commanded and a battle broke out between the two sides. During all the commotion Kankuro managed to sneak out behind the door and started running away, '_We need back up_!' Chouji managed to rush past the group and made a desperate lunge for Konan before she surrounded him in paper. Suddenly his form turned into a ball as he tried to break out.

She went through several hand seals and the ball began to squeeze and a loud cracking sound could be heard. Konan looked up to see that her jounin were getting their asses handed to them by Yamato's mokuton jutsus and Kakashi's attacks. She sighed casually as she kicked the dead Chouji back to the group. A loud scream could be heard from the last of her jounin dying from a chidori piercing his heart. Konan looked at Kakashi and smirked, "So the fabled copy-nin himself thinks he has the power to stand against me?" Sasuke charged a chidori and ran at the woman and Yamato launched several wood attacks to hold her in place. She easily avoided the two attacks as she dispersed again and reformed. Anko's snakes began to fly at her but were beheaded as several paper swords formed and sliced them. Konan laughed as she launched them at the woman who narrowly dodged them. Sasuke went through several hand seals and blasted fire out of his mouth but it was countered by hundreds of paper blasts repelling it back. He growled in frustration as Konan levitated around the room and appeared behind him elbowing him in the back of the head bringing him to his knees. Yamato tried again to snag her in wood but was unsuccessful as she easily wrapped it in her chakra paper making it blow up.

Yamato began to shout, "Mokuton: Jubaku Eisō!" (Wood Release: Curse-Binding Nest) A large tree formed around the floating Konan and held her still. Ino yelled, "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" (Mind Body Switch Technique ) Ino managed to land the attack on Konan but it was immediately dispelled by Konan's strong willpower. Shino sent his insects to attack Konan in a desperate mad dash at her he pulled out a kunai and wildly stabbed at her only to have his arms caught. She smiled as she wrapped his arms and began to twist them around his back. Cracking could be heard as she laughed out loud at the pain the man was in. She decided to spare him a bit longer and threw him down carelessly staring at the group with a plain look on her face.

She launched a large amount of paper and completely immobilized Yamato as she tried to asphyxiate him. After he passed out she released the paper and it formed back into her body. Everyone stared in shock at how powerful she was. Sasuke spoke up again as he began to yell at her, "You can't defeat all of us!" She looked at him amused and laughed, "Quite the contrary none of you are even making a dent. It's so much fun to toy with arrogant fools."

The masked man spoke up emotionally, "You'll pay for what you've done to them…" Suddenly, out of nowhere, Neji and Hinata both jumped at her in a tag team assault as they tried to use their gentle fist technique. She simply dispersed once again into paper and wrapped around Neji in explosive tags as they slid up his body and exploded blowing him and Hinata away. The rest of the group looked shocked as Konan reformed and casually strolled closer to the group, "Unfortunately, it looks as if your mission will have casualties. You have some nerve breaking into my village and trying to kill me…those who sent you are fools. None can escape my wrath! Just look at this one," she pointed to Kabuto's head on a pike on her wall. Sasuke looked at the head in disbelief at the sight and looked to Konan, "You killed Orochimaru's right hand man…so you're not on good terms with him?" She looked at him and nodded, "The snake is hiding in his hole too afraid to face me…soon his head shall be on the wall as well, along with all of yours."

Kakashi looked horrified at the sight of Orochimaru's servant beheaded. He looked at the mask Konan was wearing and spoke up, "That's Hanzo's mask…" Konan laughed as she looked at a serious Kakashi. "His death was long overdue…he served his purpose." Anko looked at the masked woman in shock as she asked, "So you really did defeat Hanzo? I have to ask why did you do it?" Konan looked at Anko with a careless glance, "He lacked the strength necessary to do what must be done. He was cruel tyrant, but a fearful one. He accepted his place in this broken land. The stagnant Shinobi nations are too arrogant and divided…they must all be purified and reforged. I plan on changing that…the Kages will all kneel before me and gladly beg for death as I watch them crumble in defeat! I shall be the empress of the world and there is nothing you can do to stop me!"

The woman began to launch another super large barrage of exploding tags at Anko when suddenly, "Shinra Tensei!" an invisible shield blocked the entire blast shielding the group from the explosion. Konan looked at the figure in awe as the smoke began to clear. She examined the orange hair, the pierced ears, the mask, and the haunting silvery purple eyes. Everyone turned in shock as they saw the man standing in front of Anko.

Konan looked at him and smiled through her breathing mask, "Well…I never thought I'd get the honor of meeting you, Pein. Believe me when I say that it is truly an honor." Anko looked at the masked man in shock that he had just saved her life and looked at him up and down. He looked at Anko for a moment and said, "I owe you a favor." She gave him a completely shocked look as she backed away in disbelief. Ino eyed the newcomer lustfully as she looked at him, '_THAT'S PEIN! Damn…he's HOT!_'

The rest of the group simply looked horrified that they now had two kage level enemies in the room. Konan looked at Naruto's whirlpool headband and smiled, "So I guess Itachi was right after all…" A kneeling Sasuke looked up at Konan in horror and shouted, "You know where he is don't you?" She looked at him as if he were trash and kicked him in the face sending him to the ground. Blood began pouring out of his mouth as he lied still watching the scene unfold.

Sakura managed to get up from her ordeal with a blood covered face and she looked at the man who had just entered the room. Slowly walking into the room were five individuals behind the man known as Pein. The conscious or surviving members of the Konoha strike team gasped in horror at the sight of seeing Zabuza, Haku, Kimimaro, Tayuya, and a woman they didn't know who was known as Guren.

Sakura looked at the man in terrified as he gave her a death glare causing her to fall on her ass and stare. Naruto turned back to look at Konan who had a very interested look on her face, "I hear you've been doing some of my dirty work over in the east…wiping out towns, killing shinobi, causing mass panic. It's such a shame that you have to die." Naruto continued to remain silent as he stared at her. Konan turned her eyes to his companions and looked impressed, "Well it seems you have Otogakure on your side I see…and if I'm not mistaken those must be the two dead people following you around."

Kakashi looked shocked as he noticed Zabuza and Haku walk up to their leader's flanks. Naruto finally decided to break his silence, "I came for Kabuto…I have no interest in you." She looked at the man plainly before pointing to a pike on her wall with the man's head on it. Naruto looked at it and sighed, "You killed my only lead to Orochimaru…he must die. I can't afford him interfering with my plans for world domination." Sasuke looked shocked as he asked, "If Orochimaru's servants are following you, than why are you trying to kill him?" Naruto looked at him and plainly answered, "Otogakure is under my control now…hell the whole eastern coastline is as far as I'm concerned."

Konan giggled evilly as Naruto finished his sentence, "Orochimaru is in Kusagakure hiding in a hole…Though he will be the least of your troubles once I start to conquer the other nations. I am taking over…it seems you are too much trouble to let live…but I find myself in a position where I could get much more use out of you alive. I'll give you two choices…bow before me and accept me as your master or die."

Everyone remained silent awaiting Naruto's answer before he bluntly replied, "No, I bow to no one…" Sakura made an attempt to stab Konan in the back as she was gazing at Naruto, but Konan caught her arm and turned to look at the bloodied face of the pink haired girl. She threw the kunoichi to the ground in front of Naruto's feet. Sakura turned to the figure and started to beg, "Please…help us!" She was immediately silenced by Zabuza kicking her in the face. Naruto began to speak again, "I was thinking the exact same thing except you bow to me." The two powerful shinobi simply stared at each other. Kakashi was watching the stare off and thought, '_This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets and immovable object…_'

Konan began to pace in front of Naruto as she looked over his group, "You know…I kind of hoped you would say that…" Suddenly Konan filled the entire room with explosive tags detonating everything in the room. "Shinra Tensei!" She looked over to see a completely unfazed Pein standing there. Naruto turned to his followers and he stated plainly, "This is between me and her…the rest of you go to Kusagakure and find Orochimaru. I'll catch up with you!" The group had mixed looks of disappointment as they left the room. Haku voiced her opinion, "Are you sure Pein? He looked at the masked woman and nodded. She reluctantly left the room as he stared Konan down. "I don't know whether to find you arrogant or brave…let's see how true the legend of Pein really is." Sasuke cut in unexpectedly, "Wait, if you're Pein than you must know something about Naruto…what happened to him?" Anko tensed up at the mention of Naruto and began to stare at the man curiously.

Naruto looked over at the Uchiha and laughed, "He died three years ago." Sasuke looked at him confused as he stared at the Rinnegan eyes in horror. Kakashi decided to speak up, "Are you really the Sage of Six Paths?" He completely ignored the man as he glanced around at the dead or injured shinobi. "Seems you had no trouble with these fools Konan…though I'm surprised you let this many live until I got here." She looked at him for a moment and nodded, "I'm glad you appreciate my handiwork…such a shame that you won't submit to me. I've been looking forward to this day for a long time."

"Oh? Why would that be?" she began to form her chakra paper into wings on her back as she began to float in the air. "I think you know why." The two wings began to launch a nonstop blast of rapid paper shuriken. Naruto went through a series of hand seals and shouted, "Jūha Reppū Shō" (Beast Wave Violent Wind Palm/Beast Wave Gale Palm) A demonic claw of blue chakra shot out of Naruto's palm and blocked the rapid fire and attempted to grab Konan. She laughed as she split into a dozen paper clones and they all randomly flew around at him. One managed to grab him and exploded launching him out the window. He landed on an outside rooftop. The rest of the exploding paper clones followed suit and Naruto blocked the remaining ones, "Shinra Tensei!" Konan flew out the window and began to levitate around him.

"C'mon Pein…I know you can do better than that. Don't play games with me…I want you." Naruto channeled his chakra into his back and felt two blue chakra wings emerge as he flew into the air to battle Konan. "So you can fly too…we have such great chemistry." Naruto growled at her mocking humor as he began to channel chakra into hands. Konan watched curiously as a Naruto channeled wind chakra in one arm and fire in the other. He harmonically spun his arms and went through several handseals, "See if you can handle this bitch!" A massive hurricane of fire began to circle the two and burned a large portion of the rooftops in Ame as it enveloped Konan.

Her chakra paper burned from the powerful fire as she swirled it in an attempt to keep herself from getting hit. Finally, she flew up as the hurricane of fire closed in and dispersed. She flew around and channeled more paper into a swirling death trap. Naruto began to charge his hands with chakra again before he roared, "Eat these Rasenshurikens!" The man launched the two large chakra shuriken at her with tremendous force. She made a wall with her paper but they were cut in half, "Shit…You're just full of surprises aren't you?"

The two shuriken closed in on her as she took a deep breath. Her entire body scattered into paper butterflies and they flew in all directions allowing the two shuriken to fly off into the distance. She reformed shortly after and began to laugh, "Hanzo had the same problem…all of his most powerful attacks count for nothing since he couldn't even hit me!" Naruto glared at the woman in anger as he drew his sword. She began to laugh at him, "You fool…you don't understand this yet, but you belong to me now!" Naruto's anger rose, "I am a god…I belong to nobody!"

She drew a kunai as he flew at her with incredible speed and tried to hit her. She formed the paper over her kunai and formed it into a sword. An intense swordfight broke out as Naruto began to fly around her at incredible speed breaking and smashing his weapon fiercely against hers. She would split every time he made contact much to his annoyance and he began to charge his sword with energy. The sword glowed blue with chakra as he began to slice the paper into pieces. Konan tried to block the charged sword but had her own paper one shattered as it flew everywhere.

Naruto charged his sword once again as he attacked, "Fūton: Ryūjin Rasengan!" A blue dragon made of chakra swirled out of the blade and tried to attack Konan. She smiled as she sent all of her paper at the entity completely immersing it before Naruto realized that they were exploding tags he was blasted a good distance away as he fell hard to the ground. Konan flew at high speed after him and formed dozens of paper clones made of exploding tags.

He blocked the first wave, "Shinra Tensei," but unfortunately wave after wave kept coming at him and he flew into the air to avoid them but was met with a tremendous aerial kick sending him flying away at insane speed. Finally he crashed on the side of cliff edge and barely got out in time to dodge a storm of paper shuriken flying at him. Kyuubi began to speak in his head much to his surprise, **"This bitch a fucking god too it seems. This is ridiculous!" **Naruto inwardly growled as he responded, '_I've never faced an opponent like this before_…' Kyuubi started to sigh, **"She seems like she's trying to impress you." **

Naruto stood on the cliff edge and saw her land next to him. She looked at him curiously as he didn't even bother attacking her. Konan stared at Naruto as she panted heavily. The look he saw in her eye was one of regret. The two stared at each other silently as rain began to fall down heavily from the sky. Finally she spoke, "We're not so different are we Pein? I can see it in your eyes…the hunger for power…the anger against the world…the overwhelming sense of loneliness. You must have been an orphan, am I correct?"

He looked at her for a moment as he sighed. He pulled his mask off and threw it to the ground. She examined the whisker marks on his cheeks curiously before asking, "So they treated you differently because you are a jinchuuriki?" Naruto looked at her sadly as a frown graced his face, "You know nothing of my pain…I fight because I must. From the day I was born I was forced to fend for myself…I had nothing…and nobody."

She looked at him sadly as she took off Hanzo's breathing mask and threw it to the ground as well. Tragedy was written over her face as she stared at Naruto. He stared at her captivating beauty but found it was almost sad to see her with such pain on her face. "I was an orphan too…nobody cared about me. I had to steal, live in gutters, and get beaten to get by. Pain makes people strong…It made me strong. How did it feel the first time you killed somebody Pein?"

He looked at her and sighed, "I felt nothing…and it pisses me off that I couldn't force myself to care about ending the life of another person…but after a while you just get numb to everything." She frowned as she replied, "The first person I killed was a rich woman…she deserved to die. They all deserve to die…for the way I was treated…for the way I was forced to live! I am a fucking person! Not a wretch!" Naruto shot her a surprised look and stated, "We may have been born into the same shit hole…but we're are nothing alike! What makes you think any different?"

She had an angry look on her face as she began to cry, "Why won't you just give me what I want!" Naruto looked at her angrily, "What is it that you want?" She shot him an furious look as she demanded, "Nobody stands against me anymore…I take what I want! If you don't give up I'm going to kill you Pein!"

Naruto looked at her and felt a surge of rage flow through him, "Nobody steps on me anymore! Submit to me Konan or you'll die!" She began to glare at him as paper wings formed on her back once again. She flew high into the sky soaking more rain. Naruto followed her as chakra wings reemerged from his back as he followed her. She roared at him, "NEVER!" She began to surround the two in a typhoon of paper and they began to circle the skies, "I regret having to kill you Pein! Together we could have been invincible!"

Naruto looked at her fiercely before he shouted back, "I am invincible! CHIBAKU TENSEI!" The ground beneath the two shinobi began to split from the earth and started flying high into the air beneath their feet. Konan found she couldn't move her feet as the two of them were on top of a massive ball of earth. She felt herself sinking into the ball tried to break free but couldn't. Naruto began to laugh, "There is no escape from this! You're going to die!" She smiled at him as he channeled his jutsu harder, "If I die then you're coming to hell with me!" Naruto was shocked as she suddenly began to laugh manically, "Kami no Shisha no Jutsu!" (Paper Person of God…I'm pretty sure) **"She's going to kill you both! USE MY CHAKRA AND YOU'LL LIVE!"**

The vortex began spawn more paper as exploding tags rained nonstop on the two. Naruto stopped channeling his Chibaku Tensei and looked up in horror at the nonstop barrage of exploding tags. He looked at Konan who had an amused look on her face before he began to run at her and embraced her, "SHINRA TENSEI!" the shield blocked the hundreds of explosions surrounding him and Konan. He looked around desperately before he tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra. He felt the enveloping surge of red chakra surround him and Konan in a shell as the exploding tags continued to rain. The ball that had formed in the sky was shattered into millions of pieces as it rained down upon the landscape. Naruto continued to hold Konan as he fell from the sky and landed with a thud…only surviving from the chakra shell.

After what seemed like a lifetime the explosions finally stopped and the shell dissipated leaving a completely exhausted Naruto. He looked up at the sky and felt the rain continuing to fall even after the massive attack. His eyes began to sting painfully and his head throbbed. The water felt intoxicating and he slowly drifted into unconsciousness as he released Konan from his grasp. The woman rolled over still in shock. She blurrily looked around as she attempted to stand but fell back over. She saw Naruto's unconscious form lying next to her and began crawling towards him. As she reached him she leaned over his defeated form and pulled out her kunai as she held it over him. She stared at him in disbelief as she looked around at the devastation their attacks had caused, '_He…he saved me. I can't believe we're both still alive_!'

Konan threw the kunai to the side and stared at the sleeping form of the man longingly. She hovered over him for minute as she looked at his face. She felt tears begin to fall down her face again as she stared at his form. 'He cares about me…he risked his life to save mine even though we're enemies.' Without thinking, she pressed her lips against his and soon felt an overwhelming sense of drowsiness wash over her as she passed out on top of Naruto.

XXXXX

Kakashi and his teammates were carrying the wounded and dead teammates from their failed mission as they made their way out of the Ame palace. Much to Kakashi's surprise however, another large group of Suna nin led by Kankuro had been there to greet them and help them carry the wounded and dead. Kakashi felt sad as he looked at all the dead people Chouji, Neji, and all of the anbu that came with them. Shikamaru was thankfully still alive, though his vitals were failing fast. Several Suna medics were carrying him as they made their escape. Among the list of injured included pretty much everybody except for Kakashi, and Yamato. Anko had strangely gone missing, as well as Shizune. Kakashi looked around for the women but couldn't find them. He became worried and sighed deeply. Sasuke stood next to Kakashi as the Suna nin began fighting their way out of the city for them, "What happened to Pein and Konan?"

Kakashi looked over to a large series of explosions off in the distance and sighed, "I'm guessing they are still fighting each other…I don't know what Tsunade will think of that, but we are in for some serious trouble if we don't get the hell out of here." Kankuro ran up to Kakashi and began to shout, "Kazekage sent reinforcements to cover our retreat, but we need to get out now!" The two nodded as they followed the trail of Suna nin out of the city on their way to Konoha.

XXXXX

Shortly afterwards, a large group of shinobi were investigating the desecrated area in complete shock. One man shouted, "Over here Shibuki-sama! We have two survivors!" The man known as Shibuki made his way over to the scene and noticed the two unconscious figures. He took a moment to examine the two individuals and his jaw nearly hit the ground, "This must be my lucky day…two of the most notorious criminals in the world…Pein and Konan unconscious! You three get the chakra restraints for them…double for each of them…my father will be pleased to receive our new prisoners."

A random jounin spoke up, "You mean this is PEIN the invincible? That's Lady Konan as well!" Shibuki shot a fierce glare, "Don't do anything stupid. Those are two of the most dangerous people in the world…judging by this mayhem I'm guessing they had a battle. Take them to Taki…my father will know what to do!" The jounin obediently did so and took the two with them as they left.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, Naruto's companions were following Zabuza high speed towards Kusagakure. Haku looked back at the massive explosions in the distance and sighed, "We shouldn't just abandon him like this…what if he needs our help? Zabuza looked at the concerned woman and sighed, "I didn't want to leave him alone either, but his orders were clear. Orochimaru will be on the move once he hears of this battle." Guren nodded as she added, "Yeah the entire region is going to be unstable for a while. Still that means Orochimaru already knows about this."

Kimimaro sighed as he stated, "He said he would catch up with us…I intend to fulfill his orders without question." Tayuya looked at him and laughed, "So loyal, Kimimaro, Oh I mean the Ashen Knight." He gave her a glare as he sighed, "I thought it was fitting…plus the rest of you all have cool alias names…Zabuza the Demon of the Mist, Haku the Sanguine Hunter." Guren laughed as she chimed in, "Well since everybody gets to have a cool name I guess you guys can call me Guren the Crytal Diva." Everyone looked at her with mixed humor. Tayuya laughed as she responded, "Sounds so scary! Ha not…guess I'll be Tayuya the Nocturne of Pain."

Zabuza sighed as he cut in, "Well now that we all have fun little super hero names I suggest we go find Orochimaru." Guren looked at him and asked, "What if we find him before Naruto catches up to us? Should we kill him?" He nodded his head, "I'm not taking any chances with that mother fucker…plus it'd be a gift to Naruto from all of us if we decided to bring his head as an offering." Haku sighed deeply, "I hope he's okay." Guren looked back and heard a nonstop explosion echoing in the distance, "They seem really hell bent on killing each other that's for sure." The group began to run faster as they disappeared into the distance. Unknown to them a purple haired kunoichi was following them closely. '_So Pein is Naruto…and he's trying to kill Orochimaru. Maybe if he shows back up I can beg him to let me join his group_.' She continued to follow the group stealthily hoping they wouldn't notice.

XXXXX

A masked man was sitting by a lake at the Valley of the End. He stared at his statue and looked at it with pride, '_Now we just need about ten of those in every village and…_' A dark figure emerged from the wall next to him and walked up to him, "Tobi…we have a problem." The man turned to look at Zetsu, "So the plan didn't work?" Zetsu sighed as he sat down next to the masked man and looked at him, "Konan killed Kabuto as you requested, but she also broke the plan."

Madara turned to look at the plant like man as he sighed, "That foolish girl and her own ambitions…what did she do?" Zetsu looked at Madara and plainly stated, "She engaged Pein in combat…I don't know who won though. By the time I reached the crater of the devastation both of their bodies were missing. I am not sure, but I think that Konan killed them both."

Madara felt an angry tone rise in his voice, "WHAT? That stupid girl…All of the pieces were falling into place, I had Pein in my grasp…are you certain they are both dead?" Zetsu's dark half began to speak, "She used her most powerful technique…nothing could have survived that."

Madara looked back at him angrily, "Damn…the nine tails can't be dead! He will eventually show up again. I don't want this incident hindering our plans any further. I want you to find the others and tell them to meet me back here. I assume by now we can formulate our plan to capture the jinchuuriki…and in time the nine tails shall reappear." Zetsu nodded as he stood up to leave. Before he left Zetsu pulled a book out of his pocket, "Shizune wanted me to give this to you…apparently it is very valuable."

Without another word Zetsu left Madara alone. The Uchiha read title, "Rikudo Sennin…this can't be it."The sound of footsteps could be heard and Madara turned to see who it was. A woman walked out of the shadows and sat next to him, "The nations are in chaos…Konohagakure is vulnerable." He sighed as he looked at the book Zetsu had given him. "Where did you find this book?"

She looked at him and smiled, "I guess it belonged to the first hokage. I saw it on Tsunade's desk, she claimed that Itachi's brother found it in the nine-tailed jinchuuriki's apartment. Tsunade said it was a historical account of the sage of six paths written by his grandson. It also has commentary from cultists and scholars." He looked at the book interested as he began to open it and read. Shizune spoke up after a few minutes, "What are my new orders Tobi?" He sighed as he looked at her, "Normally after I have no use for my agents I kill them…but not in your case." He took off his mask and looked at her calmly. His serene face matched the statue barely fifty feet from him exactly. Shizune was staring at him in shock, "You're…Madara?" He laughed as he set the book down and stood up. "Yes…you have served me so well since you were such a young girl Shizune…You won't be going back to Konoha. Your informant days are over."

She looked shocked as he offered her a hand up, "Madara…I-I…I don't know what to say." He looked at her and put his hand on her head, "Tell me more about the nine-tail's jinchuuriki. You must have seen him before he left Konoha…and I am assuming Pein isn't his real name." Shizune leaned against the nearby wall and nodded, "His name is Naruto Uzumaki…he's Kushina's son." Madara's eyes opened up surprised, "You should have told me this sooner…why didn't you?"

"Itachi requested for me to tell only him about Naruto and nobody else…plus I didn't think it would matter that much." Madara grabbed Shizune's throat and held her against the wall, "Oh? So you think it's a good idea to keep things like this a secret from your leader?" She was choking as she barely answered, "No…but Itachi threatened to kill me if I didn't." He released his grip looked at her for a moment. He grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes, "I suppose it's not your fault…your weaknesses are my own failures as your sensei. I will deal with Itachi…so you can start by telling me everything about this Naruto."

She looked at him as she said, "He's the fourth hokage's son as well…" Madara raised an eyebrow in irritation as he sighed, "Well shit…I had always wondered who Kushina's lover was…" Shizune looked at him curiously and asked, "Did you know her?" An angry look crossed Madara's face as he replied, "Yeah…she was my only regret in life. It shames me that I had to kill her, but I needed the nine tails to attack Konoha. It only figures that her son is the jinchuuriki of Kyuubi now."

Shizune watched as Madara had a scowl on his face, "That fox is more than just a Biju…"

XXXXX

WOOOHOOO I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter. Lots of action and plot twists for you. I know Konan was super ultra incredibly overpowered, but too bad. I love her to death. If you haven't noticed by now she is one of the dominant females. What's with Anko following Naruto's posse? I know the suspense is crazy.

Hinata being a bitch? I like her better that way. More Sakura bashing…physical bashing this time Hooray! I couldn't help it…oops

Nobody ask about how Zetsu can travel incredibly fast between all of these locations…it's like he said earlier, He's just that good. I didn't want to kill off too many from Konoha. Poor Chouji and Neji…but oh well LOL.

One more thing I wanted to mention. Some people have requested Mei to make an appearance…fear not for she will arrive in due time. I hope that wets your appetites for more. Anyways thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. I enjoyed writing this chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Well for those that enjoyed chapter seven, I just want to say I'm glad you did. Konan was beastly strong, but it's pretty obvious that in a Pein/Naruto fic that she is one of the main women in his group I guess I could call it. After their battle, she starts to develop obsessive feelings for him…isn't that just sweet or what? Lots of surprises in this chapter for my loyal readers.

**Chapter 8: Obsession**

In the Village of Konoha, a very pissed off Hokage was sitting at her desk looking out a window, "You got my entire Anbu platoon killed…and you had two casualties without even managing to get a single attack off on Konan. Kakashi, explain to me what went wrong." The masked jounin sighed deeply as he held his head down in shame, "We underestimated our enemy…I shall personally accept responsibility for those that died and inform their families. We also have two MIA's. Shizune and Anko both just disappeared."

Tsunade turned to Kakashi with a pained face, "So I read your report and you mentioned Pein showed up…What the fuck happened?" Kakashi shook his head in confusion, "I'm not sure what happened Tsunade…Konan was demolishing us and then Pein shows up out of nowhere and saves Anko's life with some extremely strange jutsu. He and Konan were discussing Kabuto who Konan had apparently killed before our arrival. It would seem Pein has been hunting Orochimaru." She looked at him curiously as she cocked her brow, "What happened to the two of them? Your report simply mentions your retreat."

Kakashi looked at Tsunade fearfully as he answered, "Pein and Konan in the same room was something I never want to experience again…thankfully they were enemies…Konan tried to force Pein to submit to her authority and Pein made a similar demand…It was like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. They were still battling even as we fled the city." Tsunade sighed deeply as she thought about it, "Well thank the gods they weren't allies or none of you would be alive." She began to stare at Kakashi making him nervous, "Tell me more about Pein…what did he look like?"

Kakashi thought for a moment and responded, "He had orange hair, and an anbu outfit on when I saw him. He also had many piercings in his ears. He wore a mask similar to my own which covered up the lower half of his face. His eyes were purple with a silver outline and had rings in them…my guess is it was the Rinnegan." Tsunade looked very unhappy, "That's not fucking good…I've heard nothing but terrible things about those eyes." Kakashi looked confused as Tsunade elaborated, "The Sage of Six Paths was the only known person to ever have the Rinnegan bloodline…if Pein has it that can only mean one thing…that he is the sage."

Kakashi looked shocked as Tsunade finished. He sighed, "Is there anything we can even do against him then?" Tsunade laughed as she responded, "You said he protected your team right? Maybe Pein isn't as evil as everyone thinks…He was also trying to kill Orochimaru…that alone makes him a possible ally. Maybe if we're lucky he killed Konan for us." Kakashi looked worried as he replied, "He said he wanted world domination…I don't think that qualifies as being a good guy…" Tsunade interrupted him, "I'll send scouts to look for Pein, because I think he would make an excellent Konoha shinobi." Kakashi bluntly replied, "He won't answer to Konoha…somebody that powerful is dangerous."

Tsunade glared at him, "I'll decide that for myself!" Kakashi was quiet for a moment, "You know…Pein knows what happened to Naruto…Sasuke asked him and he told us that Naruto died three years ago." A loud cough could be heard from the window making both Tsunade and Kakashi turn to look. Standing in the window's entrance was a white haired man with a distressed look on his face, "Naruto isn't dead…his name is still on the Toad Summoning Contract. My guess is that Pein is trying to protect him." Both gave him shocked looks before Tsunade spoke up, "Well at least he's alive…but if that's the case, then that only reinforces my statement that we need to find Pein and see if he knows what happened to Naruto."

A fourth individual cut into the conversation, "Unless Konan killed Pein…" the three shinobi turned to see a bandaged man standing at the doorway with a smile on his face. "Tsunade, I have important news for you…my ROOT agents have uncovered some interesting information pertaining to the battle of Amegakure." She raised an eyebrow and looked at him callously. "There were several eyewitnesses we apprehended in Ame who claim that Pein and Konan were both battling in the sky…it would seem that had quite the battle. Several kilometers from the village there was a massive crater covered in rubble. One man claims to have seen the whole fight…go on tell her." Danzo pushed a timid looking civilian into the Hokage's office and he met cold blank stares.

"I uh…forgive me Hokage-sama…uh I…you see I saw what caused the crater." Tsunade looked at him sharply and asked, "Well are you going to tell me or waste my time staring all day?" The man started shaking in fear as he began, "Those two fighting…they were flying in the air. I saw some of their battle over Amegakure and made it close enough to see them create the crater. The man did this crazy thing that literally sucked all the earth below them into this gigantic ball…but what the woman did was suicidal. She did some weird attack that caused it to rain explosive tags for ten minutes straight…If I would have been any closer I would have died." Danzo looked at Tsunade for a moment before stating, "I've had dozens of agents scour that crater, but we can find no sign of either Pein or Konan…I'm assuming they killed each other."

Tsunade frowned as she looked at Danzo for a moment, "What! You're sure of this?" He nodded as he began to pace, "That's the only logical explanation. At any rate, we had two of the most powerful criminals in the world take each other out simultaneously…that's nothing short of a miracle." Tsunade sighed as Danzo began to take his leave, "Ok Danzo, we'll talk more about this later." As he walked out of the office along with the cowering civilian man, Jiraiya had a very disturbed look on his face, "If I know anything about Konan, it's that she is a survivor…the fact that she would commit suicide to kill Pein just doesn't seem right to me."

Kakashi looked at him curiously, "Why? Did you know her?" Jiraiya gave him an annoyed nod, "Yes…she was my apprentice after Minato and before Naruto." Kakashi's eye shot open, "Can you explain to me how she's so powerful then? I honestly doubt any of us would have survived unless Pein showed up." Jiraiya thought for a moment, "Konan had a very interesting ability to fold chakra…I am not sure if it was a bloodline or not, but she could essentially do anything with it. As her chakra levels rose, I am assuming she became far more skilled at it." Kakashi sighed as he looked down, "I'll say…we didn't even get a hit on her…she was toying with us the whole time." Jiraiya laughed as he responded, "Well it's a good thing neither she nor Pein would submit to each other…those two together would be the Apocalypse."

"I still can't believe Shizune and Anko just went missing…you have no idea where they went?" Kakashi shook his head, "I have no idea where Shizune went…she disappeared sometime before we made it to Konan. As for Anko, I have a theory…" Tsunade folder her arms, "Let's hear it Kakashi." He nodded as he began, "Pein had five followers when we arrived…Konan recognized some of them to be Orochimaru's lieutenants and Pein claimed that he usurped Otogakure. The other two followers were Haku and Zabuza…seeing them alive was just…wrong." Tsunade impatiently stared at him, "I'm hoping you're coming to your point soon." He nodded, "Konan told Pein where Orochimaru was, and Pein ordered his followers to go there…I'm assuming that Anko followed them…she was Orochimaru's former pupil, and I am guessing she still wants revenge."

The blonde woman sighed as she turned to Jiraiya, "What do you think about that?" he looked down and shook his head, "Being one of Orochimaru's former students is enough to make anybody slightly crazy. She probably hopes to find Orochimaru and try and kill him with the aid of Pein's followers. If that's the case, then maybe we can use Anko as a way to contact Pein." Tsunade nodded, "I guess she was just taking initiative to find out more. At any rate, there's one thing that is still bothering me…that book _Rikudo Sennin _is missing…besides you two the only other people who were in my office before it happened were Shizune and Sasuke." Both men looked at her questioningly. "Sasuke is the one who originally brought that book to me…I know he's read the whole thing," She sighed, "Shizune and the book both going missing doesn't seem like a coincidence…"

Jiraiya had a worried look on his face, "I think I saw her put a book in her bag a few days ago when you were talking to Kakashi and Sasuke…I didn't think it was 'that book.'" The hokage had a pissed look on her face, "WHAT! Why would Shizune do that? She's one of my most trusted subordinates." Kakashi looked down, "She did seem a bit…off last time I saw her." Tsunade glared, "What do you mean…off?"

He laughed nervously, "I mean she wouldn't stop talking about Pein to Yamato…and she had this weird look on her face." Jiraiya cut in, "Maybe she knew Pein was going to show up…if that's the case then Shizune might not be as loyal as you think Tsunade." She only huffed as she turned to look out the window, "One fucking bad thing after another…"

XXXXX

Madara was sitting down at his favorite spot in the Valley of the End, on a cliff edge across from his statue near the waterfall. He was without his usual mask casually reading a book_, 'Hmm, very interesting…seems revenge and suffering are the mains themes of this chapter. Pain makes one powerful…and they use revenge to harness that power. So the Rinnegan was born from pain…kind of ironic that a Rinnegan wielder has the alias of Pein then. So inspirational…Let me see here…ah yes chapter twelve, The Man Who Became God.' _Madara eagerly began to read but was interrupted by a loud cough. He turned to see Itachi and Kisame standing behind him. He stood up and calmly turned around to face them. Silence filled the air for a moment before Madara spoke, "I see you two got Zetsu's message to return…tell me did you find the jinchuuriki in Lightning Country?"

Kisame answered, "Yes…they have two jinchuurikis. One is the eight tailed beast…its container is the Raikage's brother, and the other is the two tail's container which is the Raikage's daughter. (I don't know if Killer Bee and Yugito are related, but in this story they are.) Madara sighed heavily, "They will both be high priority to capture early." The duo nodded as Madara stared at Itachi for a moment, "So…I hear you kept Pein's identity a secret from me Itachi…care to explain?"

The Uchiha had a plain careless look on his face, "No." Madara started to laugh as he paced around the younger man, "I would prefer if we could do this the easy way, Itachi…" The man continued to stare at Madara and then a smile came to his face confusing both Madara and Kisame greatly. Itachi began to start laughing as he spoke, "Fuck off pretty boy, the reason I didn't want you to find out is because you're Kushina's father…and would probably do something stupid." Kisame looked at Itachi perplexed and turned back to see an amused Madara much to his surprise, "Is that some kind of clumsy come-on? Itachi, I respect the fact that you aren't a coward. However…" Madara punched Itach in the stomach at unseen speed and the Uchiha fell to the ground.

Madara then punched Itachi in the jaw and an angry look flared on his face, "If you ever bring up that stupid girl again, I'll put you in your own Tsukuyomi permanently!" Itachi stood up and started to smirk, "Very well Madara-chan." Kisame just sighed as he glanced at Madara sitting back down and reading his book, '_I think Madara has a bit of a bromance going on with Itachi. Fucking weird ass Uchihas...I think I'm spending too much time with them._'

"Umm, what's with the book Tobi?" Kisame asked as he noticed Madara carelessly ignoring the pair behind him. Madara turned to look at Kisame annoyed, "It's about the Sage of Six Paths…this book used to belong to Hashirama." Kisame looked to Itachi who had a strange look on his face. Itachi wiped the blood out of his mouth and began to speak up, "What happened to Konan? I've heard rumors."

Kisame laughed, "Who cares…damn is she a bitch." Madara turned from his reading again annoyed by the question and set the book down down, "The stupid girl tried to kill Pein…No, I mean Naruto." Itachi looked confused as he sat down next to Madara, "You're serious? I had heard reports of her defeating Hanzo…I guess she got a bit to overconfident and thought she was invincible." Madara looked at him and scowled, "Yeah, well Zetsu said she committed suicide to kill Naruto…though I highly doubt he's dead. The Kyuubi cares very much about its survival."

Kisame started choking, "Wait, Konan did what? Damn it I knew she was a bitch…has to go off and kill herself before I can apologize to her and tell her…" Both Uchihas were looking at the shark man perplexed as he started to laugh, "Ah, well never mind that…anyways when are the others going to get here?" Madara sighed as stared off into the distance, "A few days I suppose…you two get out of my sight until the others arrive." They both obeyed and left without a word. Madara looked back at the book and began to ponder, _'Naruto, if you truly are Kushina's son, then…' _

"Tobi!" the Uchiha was brought out of his thoughts by Shizune, "You better have a good reason for interrupting me Shizune!" He stood up and turned around to see Shizune staring at him, "Yes…it's just that somebody is here!" He sighed as he began to look at her, "Who?"

A blonde haired woman walked around the corner of the cliff edge and smiled at him. "You're dressed like those guys who recently came to Kumogakure…If I had to guess I'd say you're Akatsuki." Madara looked at the woman curiously. She had a long blond ponytail wrapped in taught bandages. She wore a mostly black outfit with a black and white shirt and purple gloves, and had a Kumogakure headband. Madara looked pissed, '_Why can't these p__eople just leave me alone_? _All I want to do is read my fucking book…' _

"You have three seconds…exactly three fucking seconds to turn around and go home and l might let you live!" She smirked as she looked at him, "I want to know what your organization is up to." He glared at her as he sighed, "Listen little girl…unless you intend to go missing I suggest you leave…this is your final warning." She laughed at the Uchiha and smiled, "You don't look tough at all…how's about you tell me why your organization is snooping around the Raikage."

Out of nowhere Itachi and Kisame both showed up and landed next to Madara. Itachi looked at her and smirked, "Seems she saved us the trouble of capturing her…that's the Two Tail's Jinchuuriki…she is the Raikage's daughter Tobi." Yugito looked at Itachi and a distressed look came to her face, "YOU! You're the ones who have been stalking my family…what do you want with me?"

Madara answered the question for her, "We don't care about you at all…we need the Nibi." Yugito had a horrified look on her face as she realized she was in danger, "You want the cat you can face it!" She began to glow with a fiery blue chakra. Madara sighed heavily as he looked to Itachi, "Deal with this problem. Bring her to me when you're finished." Itachi and Kisame both nodded as Madara walked away completely uninterested. Yugito began to shout, "HEY WHERE ARE YOU GOING MR. BADASS? GET BACK HERE!" She was completely enveloped in the fiery blue chakra and her eyes changed to a catlike yellow. Kisame raised an eyebrow as she fell to all fours and began to grow in size.

After a minute she had a full transformation into a miniature Nibi. Itachi looked at her and stated, "You stand no chance." She growled as she leapt at the duo at insanely fast speed. Kisame pulled out his sword and began to draw her attention. She pounced on him and tried to bite but was blocked as he held Samehada by the hilt and the tip into her mouth. As she bit the weapon, it began to suck her chakra up.

Kisame grimaced as the jinchuuriki tried to overpower him. Itachi activated his Sharigan. Black flames suddenly enveloped Yugito causing her to hiss in agony as she thrashed about in pain. Kisame then regained a grip on his sword and began to batter the jinchuuriki with it. The fiery blue chakra was sucked into the sword as he furiously sliced away at the giant cat. Finally he stabbed to tip of the weapon into the cat's chest and sucked the rest of its chakra out. The black flames from Amaterasu dissipated soon after.

Yugito was left lying on the ground barely conscious after she returned to normal. She tried to stand up but soon felt somebody pick her up. Kisame slung the woman over his shoulder and casually walked back to Madara with Itachi. Kisame sighed, "I think you and I picked the right partner Itachi…that went smooth." The Uchiha nodded, "Yes, Kisame, we have two suppression abilities. Plus our battle methods do complement each other well."Yugito began to squirm trying to get out of Kisame's hold, but finally stopped since she was completely exhausted. Kisame nodded as he sighed, "Yeah if only it worked that well on the damn nine-tails…"

Yugito's eyes shot open as she asked, "You tried to capture the nine tail's jinchuuriki? Who is it?" The pair ignored her question as they made it back to Madara who was reading his book again. Shizune was sitting next to him staring at him with a worried look. Kisame dropped Yugito in front of Madara and he looked at her for a moment before looking at Itachi and Kisame, "Shizune bind the girl…" The woman looked at Yugito and nodded as she began to tie her up.

Madara went over to the blonde girl lying against a wall tied up and knelt next to her. "What do you people want from us jinchuuriki?" Madara sighed as he examined her further. She spit on him and he had a blank look on his face. Finally he just punched her temple knocking her out cold. He wiped off his face and began to laugh, "Keep an eye on her Shizune." The woman nodded as Madara returned to his favorite spot and began to read again.

XXXXX

Sasuke was brooding in the Uchiha compound in Konoha. In his dark room at his house he was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling as he began to think of Naruto. '_I guess he really is dead…but he did know Pein…maybe Itachi killed Naruto. That must be why Pein fought Itachi…Pein did save us. He can't be completely evil. He was trying to kill Orochimaru too…seems strange, maybe he is trying to avenge Naruto's death. After all, if anybody knows where Itachi is it'd be Orochimaru. Something's not right though…those eyes! Naruto had those eyes in the Valley of the End! Could Pein be Naruto? No it can't be true…Pein is the most dangerous criminal in the world. That's not Naruto.'_

Images of Itachi came flooding into Sasuke's head and he boiled in anger, '_He killed everyone…our clan, mom and dad, and now Naruto…fuck! Screw this village I'm going to find Itachi and kill him!' _Sasuke stood up and picked up his supplies from the return trip to Konoha, which he thankfully hadn't unpacked. He began to walk to the door, '_This time I won't be coming back until Itachi's dead…and I've discovered what really happened to Naruto._' Sasuke began to walk out of the door to his house.

XXXXX

Naruto was having a strange dream. He was in a cage in the middle of Konoha and was being pointed to and shouted at. Suddenly the hundreds of people surrounding the cage began to shout as the sky went dark. An eruption of insults began to spew forth, "Your killed my mother you monster!" Another voice resonated loudly, "My two wonderful children…you butchered them you fiend!" He began to panic as the shouting became louder, "You're a fucking animal! YOU DEMON FREAK! I HOPE YOU SUFFER MONSTER!" he felt rage course through him as the people shouted obscenities at him.

He looked at all the people around him and he saw three figures walk up. One was Kakashi, "You don't belong on my team demon." He looked around desperately as the other two figures began to speak, "You're such a dobe…you could never be as good as me." The third figure was a pink haired girl and she had a venomous smile as she spoke, "You are a loser Naruto…what woman could ever love you? You deserve to be dead." He grabbed the bars of the cage and noticed his hands were covered in blood. Naruto exploded in anger as he reached through the cage and grabbed the girl's throat. Gasps of horror erupted as he squeezed so hard that her neck snapped. He began to roar, "DIE!" His body glowed with red chakra and began to burn painfully as he destroyed his cage. Then he grew large and transformed into the Kyuubi.

People were shouting in horror as he thrashed through the crowd killing everyone. The sky began to rain blood as people were being massacred and Naruto soon lost his vision as it was enveloped in nothing but red. Finally he heard a distant voice yelling at him, "Pein! Pein wake up!" Naruto's eyes shot open in shock as he examined his surroundings quickly. He was underneath a very large tree on an island in the middle of a lake, and was chained next to a huge pole in the ground. Across from him next to a chakra pole was a restrained Konan who was staring at him worried. He noticed the chakra restraints on his arms and legs and also noticed he was glowing dangerously with red chakra. Anger swept through him as he looked at them and he easily overpowered them and tore them off. Konan only stared in shock, "Pein?" He turned to look at the woman and growled.

She only gave him a look of horror as he ran at her and kicked the chakra pole she was held to full force snapping it in half. The red chakra began to pour out violently as Naruto heard an evil chorus of cackling in his mind, **"She tried to kill you…now take your revenge!"** Konan managed to slip out of the chakra cuffs after he snapped the pole that she was tied to. Naruto was glaring at her fiercely as if he was about to kill her. Konan began to speak, "Pein…wait! I was wrong about you…calm down and we'll talk." He walked over to her and grabbed her by the throat and held her against the nearby tree. She made no attempts to resist as she stared at him sadly, "Pein…" Naruto looked into her sorrow filled eyes and released his grip as he began to calm down. The red chakra began to recede much to Konan's relief.

An evil roar was heard in his mind, **"Destroy her!" **Naruto shouted back in his mindscape at the fox, '_Fuck you!_' a deafening howl echoed in his head as the red chakra finished receding. Finally, he was back to normal leaving a very relieved looking Konan. She began to speak, "We're both in Takigakure right now…I don't know who brought us here, but I say we should go find out. I know we're not on the best of terms right now Pein, but we owe it to each other to massacre this place." He began to look around and noticed a bridge nearby. Without another word he began to walk towards it with a blank look on his face. Konan looked at him confused, '_What's wrong with him?_' She began to follow him and spoke up, "Aren't you going to answer me? Pein, are you with me or not?"

He turned around and glared at her, "You're lucky I let you live! I don't have time to deal with your bullshit! My friends need me right now!" She was giving him a strange look and darkly replied, "You saved my life Pein…or should I say Naruto?" His eyes opened in shock as she walked closer to him. "How do you know who I am?" She sighed as she elaborated, "I'm not stupid like those Konoha nin who asked about you. Judging by the fact that you told them you died three years ago which just so happens to be around the time Pein appears." He stared at her and let out a long drawn out sigh, "What do you want from me, Konan?" She looked at him oddly and looked away, "Isn't it obvious?" He glared at her angrily, "Go away…you made your intentions clear. I won't bother with one such as you. If you stay out of my way I'll let you live." He started walking off again with an irritated look on his face.

Her blood began to boil in rage as she yelled at him, "Then why bother to save my life? Did you do it so I could suffer more? Did you want to see me on my knees at your feet before you killed me?" He continued walking as he ignored her comment. She began to shout, "Don't turn your back on me!" She ran over to him and tried to stab him with a kunai. He caught her arm and then the other one as it swung in. She gave him a pained stare as he held her hands in his own causing her to drop the weapon, "Damn it! Don't walk away! Please don't leave me…" Naruto looked at her curiously as she began to look down in shame. She slowly began again, "I'll do anything…I'm so tired of being alone."

Naruto let go of her hands and she looked into his Rinnegan eyes. He gave her a confused stare, "You want to come with me? Why?" She began to blush as she gazed at him, "Nobody has ever done anything like that for me before…I just can't stop thinking about it…about you." Naruto looked at her shocked and spoke in disbelief, "What are you trying to say?" She gazed longingly into his eyes and began to whisper, "You're not like the others…you understand me, and whether you'll admit it or not, you nearly sacrificed everything…for me." His tone began to soften as his angry attitude receded, "Some beauty in the world is worth saving…such as yourself. I was wrong Konon, we are the same. I saved your life because you are a worthy adversary deserving of my respect." She blushed scarlet as he smiled at her.

She knelt down in front of him much to his surprise and began to speak, "I'll follow you, Naruto…allow me to be your second. Let me stand by your side." Kyuubi entered his mind once again, **"Maybe she will be useful after all." **Naruto gave the kneeling woman a confused look, "Why the change of heart? You seemed pretty hell bent on me serving you last I checked." She reluctantly began again, "I don't care about that anymore…whether it's you or me, I just want to be together." He offered her a hand and spoke, "Follow your god, my angel." Finally, she took his hand and he brought her to her feet. "I'm yours forever." she stated as she continued giving Naruto a strange look. He inched closer to her face and began to speak with a seducing tone, "We're going to seal this deal later…" Konan's entire face turned red. She tried to look away but her face was cupped in Naruto's hand. He leaned in closer and pressed his lips against hers. She resisted at first but suddenly lost herself in the moment. She began to moan into the kiss and felt herself getting weak at the knees. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him. After several minutes of romantically making out, Naruto broke the kiss and left a very blissful Konan staring at him.

She couldn't believe what just happened, '_I can't believe that just happened…does he have feelings for me? Oh my god why am I letting myself be weak in front of him? Straighten up Konan_!' Her mental fortress refortified itself and she had a blank look reappear on her face as Naruto looked at her. He spoke calmly, "Before we go on a killing spree, let's see who's in charge." She nodded casually and they began to walk together across the bridge. Konan was walking awfully close to Naruto and was trying to work up the courage to wrap her arm around his. After an internal conflict she decided not to, although she was very reluctant about doing so.

As they reached the end of the bridge they were surrounded by dozens of Taki jounin all staring in shock. One man spoke up as he walked in front of the pair, "How did you break out of those chakra restraints?" Naruto sighed as he bluntly replied, "They call me invincible for a reason." Konan chimed in as he finished, "We're leaving…but first tell us who's in charge." The man looked horrified as he started to back away, "No…Pein and Konan working together? I'm SO SORRY! Please forgive my insolence!" the man dropped to his knees at Naruto's feet and started to beg, "Please don't kill us! Shibuki-sama is the one who brought you here!" Naruto sighed as he looked at the man carelessly, "Take us to him." The man stood up and shook fearfully as he led the duo into the village. The large group of jounin followed the pair eyeing them both vigorously. Naruto and Konan had blank looks on their faces as they walked into town past the citizens of Takigakure. Many of the villagers gasped in fear as they walked by.

Looks of shock and disbelief were prevalent in the crowd, but they weren't the only looks Naruto was receiving. Without his mask, his face was completely unveiled for onlookers. Many of the women that saw him gasped in awe at his face believing him to have a feral and sexy appearance. One woman even began to shout, "Oh my god! Pein, have my baby!" As they wandered closer to the center of the village to what resembled a tower, many more were fawning over the rogue nin much to Konan's disapproval. "Look! It's Pein!" a loud chorus of giggling could be heard, "He's SOO HOT!" The majority of the male jounin present were shooting confused looks at each other while the female ones stared at Naruto. They finally reached the tower in the center of the village and a man walked out of it with a timid look on his face.

Naruto and Konan glared at the man as he walked up to the two. A large crowd began to gather around much to the surrounding jounins' displeasure as many tried to reach for Naruto. Naruto began to examine the timid looking man. He had long brown hair, jet black eyes, and a concaved jaw line. He was decently tall, but nothing out of the ordinary and was adorned in a green shirt and grey pants with the traditional ninja sandals on. He looked at Naruto and Konan questioningly and then to the jounin who led them there and began to speak, "Juriko-san…why did you release the prisoners and bring them here before my father had time to meet them?" The terrified jounin had a worried look on his face as he walked over to the man and spoke, "Shibuki-sama, forgive me but Pein and Konan are allies…they freed themselves."

Shibuki's eyes opened up in shock as he looked at the two figures glaring at him. He walked over to them and began to speak, "Please…forgive me for restraining you two, but it was for the safety of the village. We found you two together in a crater outside of Amegakure and decided to bring you here." Konan gave him a dark glare and asked, "What reason would you possibly have for bringing us here?" A cough could be heard from a middle aged man walking out of the tower in the center of the village, "Forgive my rude accommodations, but my son had his reasons for bringing you here…" Shibuki turned to the man identified as his father and began to speak, "My father speaks the truth…I originally went to Ame to appeal to Lady Konan for aid against the Iwa. They are mounting a full offensive against us. They intend to invade!"

He gave a desperate look to Konan as he began to speak, "Please…we need your help!" Naruto looked at the man and spoke up, "Five minutes ago I had every intention of turning this village into a crater…but I can understand that you are in a desperate situation, and will offer you my help." Konan gave a confused look at Naruto and spoke up in disbelief, "Pein, we don't have time for this…plus these people chained us up…I say we kill them." Looks of fear swept through the crowd before Naruto turned to the woman, "Relax, Konan…" The woman eased up and was silent as Naruto began to speak again, "My aid comes with a price however…I demand the immediate loyalty of everyone in this village to a new shinobi alliance." Eager looks graced the features of Shibuki's father as Naruto continued, "Konan has already offered Ame's support to my authority, and I recently usurped leadership of Oto. Surrender Takigakure's loyalty and resources and we'll protect you."

Shibuki's father walked up to the duo and knelt in front of them, "We would be honored to serve you Pein…and Lady Konan. As the leader of Taki, I, Bukirama, hereby pledge immediate loyalty to your cause." Shibuki gave his father a confused look, "Are you sure father? What would the five great shinobi nations say if we allied with criminal leaders?" He turned to his son and sighed, "Iwa fears Konan, Kumo fears Pein, and Konoha fears them both. If they have so generously offered protection, we will accept it without question." Shibuki nodded as he turned towards the pair. His father began to speak again, "Make yourselves at home in my village. I'll cover the costs of anything. Take some time to relax and I'll gather the village elders to discuss our alliance and its politics tomorrow."

The jounin surrounding Naruto and Konan began to disperse heading back to their posts and the crowd started to dissipate slightly as Bukirama and Shibuki walked back into the tower. Naruto and Konan began to walk around the village. They received many looks of fear, but more of lust. Konan looked around at the women and began to get irritated at their giggling. She glanced at Naruto and sighed, "I don't really see a point in doing this…but your authority is without question." He nodded as he turned to her, "This would be a discreet base to watch Iwa from. I originally took over Oto trying to find Orochimaru, but it can also serve to keep a close eye on Kumo." Konan remembered her original reason to take Ame and started to frown as she looked back at Naruto.

He looked at the woman curiously and tried to identify the reason behind her depression, "Something troubling you Konan?" She looked at him and began to speak slowly, "We're not the only people trying to take over the world…there is an organization known as Akatsuki trying to do the same thing." He replied curiously, "You seem to know something about this organization…anything you want to tell me?" She bit her lip as she looked down, "I am one of its nine members…we all wear these black robes with red clouds." He looked at her outfit and shot her a look of disbelief. Then a flashback of Itachi and Kisame came to his mind and his eyes hot open, "Itachi and Kisame are members as well then…" She shot him a surprised glance and nodded. She began to elaborate, "They were tasked to search for the nine tail's container…that's why they wanted you."

Naruto sighed as he pieced the fight back together in his head, "Yes…so Akatsuki wants jinchuurikis so they can use them to take over the world. Who's the leader of Akatsuki?" She gave him a worried look and began to speak slowly, "His name is Tobi…he's very powerful…he ordered all of us to meet again after we discovered the nine jinchuuriki." Naruto gave her a querying look, "Where? Where are they meeting?" She sighed as she answered, "The Valley of the End."

He gave her a sharp look and spoke, "When our business is finished here, we're going to go there. I wish to speak with him." She had a concerned look on her face and asked, "What about your friends? Won't they need you to kill Orochimaru?" He looked at her and smiled, "They'll be fine. Plus, if they never get out on their own they'll become too dependent on me." She reluctantly nodded dreading the confrontation with her former allies.

The pair silently walked through the streets of Takigakure. Many women made attempts to try and speak to Naruto, but were immediately put off as Konan either threatened them or glared fiercely. This continued for a little while, but then out of nowhere a woman stepped in front of them and was beaming at Naruto as she saw him. "You're Pein? Oh my god…this is really happening? AHHH I'm your biggest fan!" she squealed as she ran up and jumped at Naruto wrapping her legs around his back and her arms around his neck. Konan looked angry as she stared at the woman icily. Naruto looked at the woman and found her to be extremely attractive. She had minty green hair, tan skin, and the prettiest pair of orange eyes. Her outfit was drop dead sexy as he examined it further. She wore a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with a fishnet undershirt beneath it, long white armlets, and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt. She also wore an orange clip in her hair.

She began to speak again as Naruto was staring at her, "Hey there sexy…you like what you see? I sure as fuck like what I see!" Konan glared at the woman and spoke up, "Get lost whore…Pein doesn't have time for trashy hustlers like you!" The woman gave her an amused glance as she inched closer to Naruto's face, "So Pein…you wanna fuck?" Konan's eyes nearly shot out of her head as she began to yell, "Get lost you trampy slut!" She looked at Konan again and smiled as she started stroking Naruto's face, "Oh? You don't like it when I do this?" Konan began to unleash some of her paper as she watched the scene in disgust. The girl gazed into Naruto's eyes and began to sigh passionately, "Your eyes…they're so incredible." Konan was about to snap as she balled her fist in a jealous rage. The green haired girl finally pressed her lips against his. Naruto was shocked at first, but made no attempts to resist the beautiful woman as she explored his mouth with her tongue.

She moaned into the kiss caused Konan to explode in rage as she ripped the girl off of him and covered her in paper. Konan started to punch her repeatedly much to Naruto's surprise. After a few punches spikes jutted out of the paper covered girl and she sliced her way out of it and glared at Konan, "What's your fucking problem you stuck up bitch?" Konan leered at the woman darkly and spoke, "You don't get to touch him!" The woman laughed as she stuck her tongue out at Konan, "Aw somebody's jealous…don't be mad because he likes me more than you." Konan venomously retorted, "You slut! Keep your hands off my man!" Naruto looked at her confusedly and Konan blushed deeply realizing what she just said. She looked away in embarrassment as Naruto looked back to the mint haired perky girl, "I'm sorry miss…I don't think we caught your name?"

She grabbed his hands in her own and inched close to his face again, "So you want to get on a first name basis after all? My name is Fu! Now that that's over with…" She immediately began kissing Naruto again and he heard laughter in his head, **"HAHAHAHAHAHA! This is priceless…tell me you're going to mate with this girl…I think she's in to you." **Naruto laughed inwardly at Kyuubi's comment as Fu deepened the kiss and began to moan again. Konan had never been so jealous in her entire life and she pounced on Naruto and Fu in a fit of envious rage. She grabbed Fu's neck and the two began to roll around on the ground.

A group of onlookers watched the scene curiously as they noticed the two women fist fighting on the ground. Naruto sighed as he walked away leaving the two girls alone. Fu was wrestling with Konan in a jealous fit of anger. Fu began to ask, "What's the big deal? I'm not stealing your boyfriend; I just want to have sex with him." Konan growled back, "And you think that's okay? Pein's mine…get lost you sleazy nymphomaniac!" Fu gave Konan an irritated glance as her perky mood turned sour, "I'm gonna tie you up and force you to watch him fuck me." Konan wrapped the girl in paper again but she easily sliced out of it with spikes that came from her arm. Fu began to imitate an orgasm, "Oh yeah Pein! Right there! You know what I like…mmmmm!" Konan roared as she pulled out a kunai, "You're going to die you slut!"

Finally Shibuki intervened as he ran over, "Fu! Stop bothering our guests! And please don't insult Lady Konan!" Fu stopped as she looked at Shibuki and a frown graced her features and she walked away with an angry look on her face. Shibuki turned to Konan, "I apologize…Fu's a very strange individual. Her behavior is radical and obscene. She does some strange things for attention." Konan looked at him and sighed, "Yeah I'll say…where's Pein? Do you know where he went?" The man looked at her curiously and shook his head, "No idea, but we have prepared guest rooms for you at the tower, so feel free to use them at any point during your stay here." She nodded as she gazed at the retreating mint haired girl.

Fu made it away from the commotion and sighed as she looked down, '_Damn bitch getting in my way…I finally meet Pein and this shit happens_.' She began to sulk into a depressed mood as she wandered across the bridge to the large tree in the middle of the lake. She made it halfway across and sat down on the side of the bridge and let her legs hang over. '_I guess I really am going to be alone forever…they all hate me. Why can't I ever get what I want…fuck I hate them all!_' Fu's mood was darkening as she glared into lake at her reflection. '_All they see is a monster…what man could ever love me?' _

Suddenly she saw another face in her reflection in the water and turned to see who it was. Naruto was standing over her with a confused look on his face. She looked up shocked as he sat down next to her. They were both silent for a moment before Naruto began to speak, "You seem unhappy…I'm sorry about Konan, she's just a bit obsessive." Fu looked at him sadly and nodded, "I'm used to it by now…every guy I've ever liked has chased me off, or his woman has." Naruto gave her a look of disbelief, "Why would they do that?" She gave him a glare and stated, "Everybody here hates me…it's been that way since I was a child. The way they look at me…they all fear me. They think I'm a monster. I can't explain it…you wouldn't understand."

Naruto felt his stomach churn as her sorrow brought up his own memories, "I understand your pain, Fu…" She looked at him skeptically and shouted back, "No you don't! Nobody understands how I feel…I'm a jinchuuriki." Kyuubi began to cheer in Naruto's mind, **"Kit this one is a keeper…" **Naruto looked at her shocked as she turned away desperately trying to hide her tears. Naruto put his hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at him with tear stained eyes. He frowned as he spoke, "I am a jinchuuriki as well…more specifically the container of the nine tailed fox." A thousand emotions coursed through Fu's heart at that moment she stared at the man desperately confused. She spoke up quietly, "I'm the container of the seven tailed beetle…" They both stared at each other unsure of what the other was going to do. Finally, Naruto embraced her in a hug.

She began to cry harder as she pressed her face against his chest. Naruto patted her back and rubbed the back of her head as she sobbed her heart out. He held her close and began to whisper to her, "You don't have to be alone anymore…I'm going to take care of you. We're the same, Fu." Finally, she stopped crying and gave him a hopeful look, "You're everything I've ever wanted…" Fu straddled Naruto as she began to trace his whisker marks. She looked at him longingly and started to beg, "Please let me come with you Pein…I am tired of being afraid and alone." He gazed into her eyes and spoke, "I'll protect you…we're both jinchuuriki, and owe each other kinship." Her face moved in closer to his and she spoke softly, "Promise me we'll be there for each other forever."

Naruto gave her a smiled and replied, "I promise you Fu…" She began to kiss him again greedily and moaned passionately. Their tongues danced through each other's mouths as they both tried to overpower each other. Finally Naruto gave in as she pushed him down on his back and they continued to make out. She laid kisses across his face over his whisker marks and down to his neck. Fu felt him as he wrapped his arms around her back and rolled over on top of her. Naruto's Rinnegan eyes stared into her orange ones. She passionately sighed as she gazed into them, "Your eyes…they are so amazing." Naruto began to kiss her again and she wrapped her legs around his waist. A nervous cough could be heard and it brought the two from their blissful kiss as they turned to see who it was. A blushing Shibuki was rubbing the back of his head, "I am…sorry to interrupt you two, but Konan was looking for you Pein…" Naruto stood up much to Fu's disappointment and responded, "Oh yes…where is she?" Shibuki nervously turned around and looked back to Naruto, "She's in the tower…but she said she was about to go looking for you."

Naruto nodded as he began to head to the tower followed by Fu who had her arms wrapped around one of his. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked across the bridge. Shibuki watched the scene in utter confusion, '_I wonder why Pein was kissing Fu…does he know she's a jinchuuriki? If he does know, then I doubt he'd kiss her…' _Shibuki silently began to walk back to the village. As Naruto and Fu walked through the village, many looks of shock and envy were directed to Fu as she held Naruto's arm. People whispered as the pair walked by, and one woman even had the nerve to step in front of them and stare, "Let him go you succubus!" Naruto gave the woman a cold glare and told her, "Move aside or die." She shot him a fearful glance as she backed away from the pair. Fu looked at him dreamily as she sighed with passion.

As they finally reached the tower Fu looked down nervously and started, "So…mind if I stay with you tonight?" He laughed as he looked at her, "I wouldn't mind at all, but Konan might blow up the village if she found out." She pushed him against a wall and looked at him lustfully, "Forget her…we should fuck." A loud cough was heard and a flustered Konan was glaring at Fu angrily, "The only fucking that's going to be happening around here is me fucking you up!" Fu sighed as she looked at Naruto again and then back to Konan, "I'm sorry, last I checked he didn't have a ring on his finger…not to mention, where do you get off thinking you own him?"

Naruto face palmed as the two women were at each other's throats again, "You little green haired hooker! I warned you what would happen if you didn't keep your hands off of him!" Fu shouted back at her, "I'm sorry your pussy must be pretty dry you flower haired control freak. Just because he wants to fuck me more than you, doesn't mean you have to be so such a damn whore!" Konan tackled Fu into the wall and the pair started wrestling once again before Naruto put a hand on each of their shoulders, "Listen…I know there's some sexual tension flying around, so how's about we get this out of your systems." Both girls looked at him eagerly as they each grabbed an arm and leered at each other.

They made their way inside the tower and up the stairs to Naruto's room. (GOGO Lemon time! WOOOHOOO HOORAY! Oh uh…I mean Warning Lemon here) Naruto closed the door behind him as he entered his room with the two women. They immediately began to strip him of his clothes. Konan took a kunai and sliced a line down his shirt ripping it off as Fu pulled his pants down. She blushed deeply at the bulge in his boxers as she stared up at him with seducing smile. Konan wrapped her arms around Naruto and pushed him onto the bed in the room and began to kiss him passionately. Fu then pulled his boxers down and stared at his manhood hungrily, "Such a big cock…" She grabbed it and began to jerk it up and down causing him to moan deeper into his kiss with Konan. Fu smiled at his reaction and began to suck his cock. Konan got off of Naruto and began to undress.

Her akatsuki robe came off revealing thigh high black leather boots, spandex shorts and a skin tight V neck shirt showing lots of cleavage. (Obviously, you know what turns me on…LOL) Fu began to bob her head as she attempted to deep throat Naruto. She hummed after each intake and he held his head back in pleasure. Konan pulled off her shirt and shorts leaving her only in her leather boots as she climbed on top of Naruto. He couldn't help but stare at her incredible breasts as she spread her legs in front of his mouth, "Please me!" Naruto obeyed her demand without question as he slid his tongue across the lips of her vagina causing a deep moan to escape her mouth. He moaned as well from Fu's oral massage. She began to pump his cock as she sucked it adding to the pleasure.

Meanwhile Naruto was grabbing Konan's ass he began to eat her out. She cooed as his tongue went deeper, "OOOOOOOOOOh!" he added to it as began to lick her clit and she moaned loudly as he continued. Fu finally took her mouth off Naruto's manhood and began to get undressed as well. She pulled off her shirt and fishnet shorts and licked her lips as she jumped on the bed pushing Konan off of Naruto. The woman hit the floor and looked angry as Fu lowered herself onto Naruto's cock slowly, "Oh! OOOOH FUCK!" she went down slowly at first but soon crashed on top of him. Insane pleasure began to course through her body as she slowly began to go up and down, "OH that feels so good!" Konan glared in jealousy but found herself completely turned on as she watched it. She began to rub her wet pussy watching Fu ride Naruto. The mint haired girl's pace began to pick up, "Oh yeah! OHHHH!" she moaned every time she crashed back on top of him.

Naruto cupped the woman's boobs and began to squeeze them as she rode harder and faster. Konan continued masturbating to the scene as she watched in anticipation. Fu squealed in delight as she started bucking wildly on top of him and felt herself reaching her climax. Naruto began to rock his hips and bucked back meeting her in a rhythmic pace. Finally, she began to scream in pleasure as her orgasm reached its climax, "I'm cumming!" Her walls began to tighten around him as she smashed on top of him. She rode out her orgasm and began to giggle, "MMMMMM! Hahaha!" Konan couldn't take it anymore and kicked Fu off of Naruto causing her to violently fall off of his cock. He turned to Konan and she pounced on top of him as she kissed him romantically once again. Fu looked at her irritated as Konan began to suck Naruto's cock. She slowly licked up and down his the shaft of his penis as she looked at him eagerly. Finally she spoke sexily, "You have no idea how bad I want this." He stood up off the bed and pushed her against a wall as he smiled, "Oh I think I do."

Naruto grabbed each one of her thighs in his hands and spread her legs as he held her against the wall. She yelped as he entered her, and she wrapped her hands around his neck. He began to pound into her causing loud moans to escape her mouth. She banged her head against the wall every time he hit her G-spot, "OOOH! OH right there!" Fu was lying on the bed and decided to follow Konan's example as she masturbated to the scene. Naruto continued to pound into her and as his pace sped up she began to pant desperately. Konan moaned like a whore as Naruto smashed her pussy. She began to buck off the wall and swung her hips to match his pace. "Oh Naruto! YES RIGHT THERE! OOOOH! Fuck me!"

Fu's eyebrows rose as she heard the foreign name and looked at Naruto, '_Naruto? So that's what Pein's name is?' _She continued to watch as Naruto demolished Konan against a wall. The woman was lost in a sea of pleasure as Naruto continued fucking her, and Konan's orgasm reached its peak, "AHHHH! NARUTO! CUMMING!" Konan shrieked as she was enveloped in pure ecstasy. Fu got up and walked over to Naruto and began to kiss him as he pulled out of Konan. Fu cut in playfully, "My turn!" Naruto laughed but Konan pushed Fu back and began to shout, "Back off bitch! I'm not done yet!" Fu tackled her but was thrown against the bed as Konan jumped on top of her.

Kyuubi began to cheer in his head, **"HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES! TWICE!" ** Naruto began to laugh as they wrestled on the bed, "This is going to be a long night…"

XXXXX

Naruto's team had made it to Kusagakure without much trouble and had been searching for sign of Orochimaru. So far, Guren appeared to be the only person even finding leads as they had been wandering through the small village. The group was incredibly bored as they eagerly awaited the return of their leader. Haku spoke up in a worried voice, "He hasn't come back yet…it's not like him to just forget about us…I wonder if he's okay." Zabuza spoke up casually, "He'll be fine Haku…though I wish he'd get here soon. I don't have any inspiration for my book!" Kimimaro shot him an annoyed glance as he sighed, "I still can't believe you made me read that junk…" Guren looked at Zabuza curiously, "What book? What's it about?" Zabuza had his mask off and was beaming with pride as he pulled the book out of his pocket, "Say hello to Naruto's sex life…Chronicles of a Super Pimp…it comes complete with five separate one night stands and several mutual developments with some of you."

Haku face palmed as Guren grabbed the book and began to read it. Her face got red as she read the part with herself and started blushing, "HEY! I didn't surrender to my feral instincts as I begged for him!" Zabuza laughed as he shot her a Jiraiya look, "It's all about perspective…but anyways how did that lead of yours work out Guren?" She sighed as she looked at Tayuya and Kimimaro, "We're going to have to go undercover and kill him…I'm pretty sure he doesn't know about us yet since Kabuto died before he could tell him." Zabuza looked at her and shrugged, "What are me and Haku supposed to do then?" She laughed as she pat him on the head, "Lots of bounty hunters pass through this town…I'm sure that'll keep you entertained." Tayuya chimed in cheerfully, "I'd rather do that than go undercover for Orochimaru." Kimimaro sighed as he spoke, "I have faith in Naruto-sama…although it pains me to do this to Orochimaru, Naruto is my master now."

Guren looked at him darkly, "If you blow our cover I'll rip your fucking head off!" He gave her a concerned shrug as he replied, "Don't worry about that…if anything you should be giving that speech to Tayuya. She's the lowest ranking of his subordinates out of the three of us." She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, "How's about you eat a dick Mr. Ashen Knight. Or maybe we should have called you the powdered pussy?" Haku sighed as she cut into the argument, "I have no intention of sitting around in this town…I say we split up and meet again in Oto a few weeks from now." Zabuza gave her an approving look as he nodded, "Yes…Haku and I have unfinished business with Yagura…"

Guren shook her head in disapproval, "Naruto wouldn't want us splitting up…it'll make it easier for our enemies to pick us off." Haku replied swiftly, "But it also makes us a target if we're all gathered without Naruto-kun to protect us." Zabuza stood up and looked at Guren, "You three take care and kill the snake for us…we're heading to Kirigakure."

Guren sighed as she looked at Zabuza and Haku, "Be safe you two…Tayuya, Kimimaro let's go." The two sound nin followed Guren as Zabuza and Haku left the other way. Haku looked up to Zabuza and spoke, "You think we stand a chance against Yagura?" Zabuza looked at her nodded his head, "Our years with Naruto have made us strong, plus Naruto knows that we had the intention of going there." Haku sighed as she looked forward, "I hope so."

As both sides split, Anko was standing in the middle of the village trying to decide which group to follow. '_DAMN IT! They're going for Orochimaru, but the other two say he's going to meet them in Kirigakure…FUCK_!' After a long internal battle, Anko decided to follow Guren, Tayuya, and Kimimaro. She began to get worried as she thought, '_Maybe Orochimaru will believe me if I tell him I'm coming back…and then I can ask them about Naruto.'_

XXXXX

Fun Fun Fun! Yeah I know this update was a bit slower than the others, but it's that time of year and all. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this action packed chapter. I threw a brief lemon in for you, because I believe sex is a mutual developing aspect to any healthy relationship…or relationships in that case. It wasn't a super long lemon, but I didn't feel like sitting there and writing it for another hour, because you all got the general idea.

Sasuke brooding? I've never heard of such a thing…but yeah he's on the move and trying to find the truth. What'll happen when he comes face to face with Itachi? Or Naruto? Or a gay bar? LOL just kidding about the last one, but you'll have to read to find out.

Yeah I wasn't really sure what cannon Fu would be like, so I kind of just invented her personality. Lots of jealous rage between Konan and Fu…isn't that just beautiful or what? As far as her powers go, I made up some kind of spike thing similar to Kimimaro, but slightly different. It'll be explained in the next chapter or two.

Madara-chan? C'mon you know you laughed when you read that…*Dead Silence…even crickets stop* Me and my cheap humor…well at any rate, I laughed when writing it.

Also I'll bet you guys LOVED that plot twist about Kushina being Madara's daughter. All of that will be explained in future chapters, but it kinda of makes you want to know now eh?

Well all in all, that was chapter 8 for you…hope you enjoyed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Everyone: **I appreciate those who liked my sense of humor. Sometimes I think I'm the only one laughing because I'll get messages from people who take everything seriously and tell me obvious things like "That character wouldn't say that." Well no shit…this is a fanfic, not a clone of Canon. Go read the manga if you want Canon. To all the people with the technical questions I didn't respond to, just keep reading the story and most of them will eventually be answered.

I apologize for the delay, but I have been busy with college and my new job. I don't like to update this slow, but shit happens I guess. I'll make it up to you by updating the next few chapters quickly. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this update.

**Chapter 9: Defiance**

Deep in the forests of Fire Country, a certain raven haired Uchiha was on his way to Grass Country. Sasuke jumped from tree to tree moving at high speed. He had been on the move ever since he left Konoha, and was weary beyond belief. His vision was hazy and his thoughts were unclear. Despite the drowsiness, his mind continued to race at the thought of Pein, '_Who is he? We never did see his face. I wonder why he keeps it covered…I mean it's not like we would know who he is anyways. Maybe he's hiding something…but what?' _

Sasuke went over the encounter with Pein in his head dozens of times. His tired eyes ached painfully as he thought about what the man said about Naruto. Something about Pein seemed so familiar to Sasuke. '_His hair…it was spiky like Naruto's. It was a different color, but still very similar. His eyes were_…'

Suddenly, a realization hit Sasuke and he stopped. Memories came flooding into his mind of the battle at the Valley of the End, '_Those eyes…the Rinnegan. Naruto had those eyes when he stabbed me. No…it can't be true. Maybe Pein is Naruto…oh fuck, no wonder he's pissed off.' _Sasuke was worried to say the least. The very idea of Naruto being Pein was still sinking in as he remembered all the rumors about what Pein had done, '_All those people…hundreds of people…he killed them all. No…Naruto can't be Pein can he? To think that the happy go lucky idiot could go from being a protector of Konoha to one of the most notorious criminals ever.'_

Sasuke was very distressed by his revelation and felt a sickening feeling in his stomach. '_Naruto is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and he has the Rinnegan…he must devastatingly powerful. Oh fuck…that must be why he had the book…Maybe I should look for him.' _Despite the depressing feelings it brought up in him, Sasuke knew deep down that Pein was in fact Naruto. '_He was searching for Orochimaru…who is apparently in Kusagakure. Maybe Orochimaru would accept me if I showed up…and then Naruto would eventually arrive to kill him.'_

Sasuke began to solidify his plans in his head as he continued onward toward Grass Country. Despite his exhaustion, he pushed on. '_I knew you were more than you appeared to be…Naruto_.'

XXXXX

The warm sunlight shined on Konoha once again as the sun began to creep over the horizon. A blonde haired woman was sitting on the Hokage Monument enjoying the scenery. Her eyes had bags under them and were cracked red, indicating that she had been up all night. Tsunade sighed deeply as she crossed her arms and looked at the clouds. Due to the morning sunlight, Tsunade swore they almost looked red.

The woman hadn't slept in days and was hopelessly overwhelmed with one disaster after another. She began to drift in thought trying to ignore her current troubles, '_Naruto…I would give anything just to see you again. To tell you how much I care for you and how sorry I am for not being there when you needed me the most.' _Tsunade felt extremely guilty for not being there for Naruto the day before he disappeared. She never forgave herself for being lazy and shrugging off the boy's distress as if he would always be there. She just couldn't fathom the idea of losing another loved one. Her brother, her lover, and now Naruto…the only remaining person in the entire world she could honestly say she loved. Although, Tsunade wasn't the only person who had been grieving ever since Naruto disappeared. Apparently, a lot more people cared for him than she originally believed. The ramen stand owner and his daughter had asked about him to the Hokage herself on more than one occasion. Tsunade was surprised to see civilians that cared about the jinchuuriki. Some of the other people were greatly changed by the absence of the blonde.

Iruka was devastated when Naruto went missing and was never the same. Tsunade remembered telling him about it and seeing the look of utter pain on his face. Iruka quit teaching at the academy a few months afterwards and simply told her that he couldn't do it anymore because it reminded him too much of Naruto. Kakashi had also been visibly affected by his student going missing. He almost never spoke to anyone anymore unless he was on a mission, and could regularly be seen wandering team seven's training ground during odd hours of the day. Tsunade knew that Kakashi felt shamed for not helping his sensei's son.

Jiraiya was one of the worst people to be affected by the misfortune. After their conversation about Konan, Tsunade had learned that Jiraiya felt responsible for everything that happened to his three pupils. It was honestly disturbing to see Jiraiya so depressed that he hadn't done anything perverted. The idea of her friend and long time team mate blaming himself for everything that has happened recently made Tsunade feel terrible.

Judging by the ill will most of rookie nine had against Sakura, Tsunade knew that they all cared for Naruto in their own ways. She was extremely shocked to see how deeply it moved Sasuke. Tsunade assumed that Sasuke had developed an intense respect for Naruto after their battle, and upon learning the truth about him. She just wished Naruto was here so that he could see that he was loved and did have a family.

Footsteps came from behind Tsunade and she turned around to see a pink haired girl. Sakura walked up with a distant look on her face and a large bandage covering her cheek. Tsunade remembered healing the wound. If it wasn't for her being the best medic in the world, Sakura would have likely had a nasty scar on her face for the rest of her life. She sat down next to Tsunade and began to speak in a low tone, "I've been thinking about him lately. You were right Tsunade-sama…I do miss Naruto."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at her unexpectedly, "Is that so? Yeah, I miss him too. It just bothers me how he disappeared…even though we have theories, I just can't help but think there is more to it." Sakura looked at her questioningly, "How so?" The blonde haired woman lied back and stared at the sky deep in thought before she spoke, "I mean…he was acting so weird the day he went missing. When he brought Sasuke back…something changed in him. I could see it in his eyes. He was angry that day. I saw the eyes of a killer…"

Sakura began to recollect her thoughts about the day Naruto left. She remembered the hospital and the way he treated her, "I've never seen him like that…he gave me this look like he was going to kill me." Tsunade looked at her and sighed, "I don't doubt he would have…" Sakura gave her a shocked expression and replied, "He wouldn't do it…he's not like that."

Tsunade glared at the girl, "You didn't think that three years ago…" Sakura looked down in shame and groaned in frustration. Tsunade sighed again as she changed the subject, "So how are the others recovering at the hospital?" Sakura's mood sulked even deeper as she answered, "Shino's arms are both broken…Shikamaru suffered extreme blood loss from being stabbed in the back…and he is in a coma. Chouji and Neji are both dead. Everyone else has minor cuts or burns. Though some cuts weren't small…" Sakura felt her bandaged cheek. Tsunade chimed in trying to cheer her up, "Don't worry about that thing Sakura…I've healed worse scars before. It won't be there a week from now. As for the others…they died in service to Konoha. That's the inevitable destination of all the shinobi in this village."

Sakura nodded, "You're right Tsunade-sama…it's just so hard to believe that one woman defeated all of us." Tsunade stared at the young woman in thought and asked, "Tell me about Konan, Sakura. She must have been powerful if she defeated you guys." Sakura's eyes shot open and she glanced at the older woman, "The only way I can describe her is pure evil. She was terribly cruel to us and mocked every one of us as if we were nothing." Tsunade looked unsatisfied as she restated the question, "I didn't want your opinion of her. I wanted to know what she looked like and what she could do."

Sakura tilted her head in confusion for a moment before understanding, "Oh, yes she was very…strange. She had blue hair, amber eyes, and pale skin. She also had a labret piercing." Tsunade thought for a moment and smiled, "Do you think she was attractive? Would she be considered good looking in your opinion?" Sakura shot a displeased look at Tsunade and shouted, "WHAT? Hell no…she was a freak. She's a whore too…I saw the way she was looking at Pein when he showed up!" Tsunade was surprised by her statement, "Konan found Pein attractive?" Sakura glared as she nodded, "Yeah…the way she was flirting with him made me sick." Tsunade burst out laughing and clutched her side, "HAHAHA! So you're jealous of her is what you're saying?"

"NOOO! Tsunade-sama, that's not funny!" Sakura whined loudly as the blonde haired woman rolled her eyes. "Well, I just wanted to hear your thoughts on it. Everyone else from the mission I talked to told me Konan was like a fallen angel." Sakura growled as she shot back, "What idiots said that…there's nothing angelic about her!"

Tsunade gave her an amused chuckle as she spoke, "Well according to Kankuro, she was incredibly beautiful." Sakura's face lit up in an envious fit as she growled, "They're all full of it…any guy nowadays thinks a woman who can kick his ass is hot." Tsunade laughed as she continued to tease Sakura, "Oh? Well let me know when that revelation hits you." Sakura sighed as she looked down, "Everyone thinks I am weak…"

The blond haired shrugged at Sakura's comment, "I could train you some more I suppose…although don't beat yourself up too hard, Konan was a kage level nin." Sakura sulked as she nodded her head, "Yeah the way she handled us was just sad…" Tsunade thought to change the subject to avoid drama. Tsunade's mind wandered to a more urgent matter and her tone changed completely, "Sorry to cut that conversation short Sakura, but do you know what happened to Shizune and Anko? Both of them went missing. Kakashi says Anko likely pursued Pein's followers but what about Shizune?"

Sakura lost herself in a brief memory before answering, "Yeah, Shizune said she was taking a shortcut when the two of us were following the group…I guess I didn't really think of it until now." Tsunade's eyes shot wide open as she began to go over the possibilities in her head, '_Shizune…what are you up to?_' Tsunade stood up as she looked at Sakura, "I have a meeting to prepare for with Suna…do you mind helping me out Sakura?" The pink haired girl nodded, "Sure thing Hokage-sama!"

XXXXX

Shizune sneezed as she walked along the cliff edge of the Valley of the End. She had been guarding the jinchuuriki girl as requested by Madara, but she found herself incredibly bored. She sat down on the edge of the cliff and let her legs hang over the side as she watched the glorious sunrise. Out of nowhere a figure sat down next to her and sighed, "Do you ever get the feeling that Tobi is going to kill us all one day?" Shizune looked at Kisame and noticed an amused smirk on his face. She sighed as she nodded, "He told me indirectly that the only reason he keeps me around is because I'm useful."

Kisame chuckled and asked, "Just out of curiosity…how did a little girl like you end up working for Akatsuki?" Shizune smiled as she looked at the shark-like man, "Tobi recruited me when I was a kid…around the same time Itachi murdered his clan. I have a unique jutsus that allows me to emit poisons that are not only acidic, but also highly flammable. Plus I can imbue anything with my poison. When I combine it with fire jutsus, it can be fairly devastating."

Kisame looked at her amused, "Oh? You sound pretty confident in your…abilities Hahaha!" She scowled at his mocking attitude and sighed, "My exploding poison nova is a force to be reckoned with." Kisame shook his head, "I doubt that it's as great as you think." Shizune growled at Kisame as she stared, "I know everything about you Kisame…your water jutsus wouldn't work so well if I polluted the waters now would they?" He responded darkly, "I will kill you…just remember your place little girl…"

"My place is with Tobi…I had many useful skills that he appreciated me for. I was also very good at lying and stealing and spying. Admirable qualities for a good informant. Tobi favored me over all of his personal servants. I'm sure if it came down to it, he would choose me over you." Kisame rolled his eyes, "Got a thing for Tobi eh?" Shizune blushed as she looked away embarrassed, "No…how dare you accuse me of such a thing!" Kisame beamed as he turned his gaze on her, "Bad news for you girl…he's gay."

She nearly choked and looked at him shocked, "If he heard you say something like that he'd kill you…not to mention, Tobi is straight. He had a family once upon a time." Kisame nodded as he glanced away, "Yeah…I'm sure there were rainbows, sunsets, and even beaches with crashing waves…obviously he's got a thing for men…the whole family thing was a cover-up." Shizune looked unconvinced, "Seriously, Kisame, stop joking around like that. You're not funny at all." He glared at her, "I would absolutely love to rip you to shreds you little girl…maybe on a beach…with crashing waves…and a sunset..."

Shizune laughed at Kisame and shot back, "I know all about your sword Kisame…Samehada isn't invincible and neither are you. Go shove your little lame sword up your ass." Kisame's sword, Samehada, began to hiss and he stood up facing Shizune, "You're going to die for insulting Samehada!" She stood and faced him with a dark smirk, "I'm not as weak as you think Kisame…" They were about to break into a fight until a cough could be heard. They turned to see Deidara and Sasori standing there with perplexed looks on their faces.

Deidara smiled and walked up, "Ugh…is this your girlfriend or something Kisame? Is it that time of the month? Or does she want serious commitment and you don't?" Both Kisame and Shizune's jaws hit the ground as they stared at Deidara pissed, "GIRLFRIEND! Deidara…you are about to be my fucking girlfriend if I ever hear you say that again!" Deidara chuckled and winked at Kisame, "Is this some kind of confession of your gay fantasies about me?" Kisame glared at the blonde haired man and gripped his sword harder, "Watch yourself pretty boy or you'll end up dead!"

Shizune cut in venomously, "He is wretched, ugly, and egomaniacal...how dare you assume I am his girlfriend!" They traded confused glances and Sasori spoke up, "Seriously, who is the girl?" Shizune sighed as she was about to speak. Before she could open her mouth, a masked individual landed in front of them and spoke, "She is one of my agents Sasori…her name is Shizune. Don't mind her arrogant foolishness…" Shizune huffed in annoyance as Madara walked over to Sasori and Deidara.

The red haired puppet master nodded. Madara turned back to Shizune and Kisame and stared at them through the hole in his mask. Madara began to speak, "What's wrong with this picture?" They all looked confused as Madara ran a hand through his hair, "Why are you fools all standing around?" Kisame looked at Shizune and let out a slight chuckle. She rolled her eyes. Deidara spoke up much to everybody's surprise, "Is somebody in a bad mood? Does Tobi-chan need to go blow up a town with me to feel better?" Madara glanced over to the blonde haired man before Kisame added, "Yeah with a rainbow…and crashing waves on the beach…with a romantic sunset!"

Deidara looked amused and Madara face palmed as he walked away. Sasori followed him and began to speak, "Wait…Tobi!" The man turned to the red haired puppet master, "We'll discuss the Kazekage later Sasori…once Hidan, Kakuzu, and Zetsu get here. I don't wish to be disturbed. If you find Itachi however, send him to me." Kisame elbowed Shizune and nodded his head suggestively as he whispered, "Yeah…he wants Itachi."

Shizune rolled her eyes at the man and crossed her arms. Deidara looked at the unconscious blonde haired girl nearby and began to laugh, "Is she Kisame's ex-wife?" Kisame's eyes shot open, "WHAT!" Deidara crossed his arms as he nodded, "Yes…it seems that Kisame's current love interest, Shizune, defeated his ex wife in combat." The woman shot him a dark glare and growled back, "You're not funny asshole!" He smiled as he responded, "So you obviously wear the pants in the relationship…hm?" Shizune's face lit up in anger as Kisame sighed, "No, she's the Raikage's daughter. I forgot her name, but she is the container of the Nibi." Deidara chuckled, "Oh…well I guess that makes sense." Sasori walked over and began to speak, "How exactly does Tobi intend on using these jinchuuriki?"

"He wants to extract the Biju within them…I have no idea how he intends to do it though," Itachi's voice could be heard as they all turned. He had a serious look on his face as he approached the group. Deidara glared at him. Kisame swung Samehada around his arm as he began to pace around, "Yeah well even if we manage to get the others, Pein is a force to be reckoned with. We need to take him down together."

Deidara raised an eyebrow at Kisame and laughed, "Teamwork?" Itachi sighed as he interrupted Deidara's laughing, "He's right. Pein grows more powerful by the day…he's more than a match for any of us alone…especially if he has his followers with him. We made the mistake of underestimating him before…but this time Kisame and I are ready." The shark man smiled as he nodded, "We have something that even he won't be able to defeat…"

Deidara had an unimpressed look on his face, "Yeah…I'm sure it involves running away at high speed right?" Itachi's knuckles cracked as his hands balled into fists, "Your mockery is unimportant…you will do your job without question or I'll kill you." Deidara boiled in anger as he shot back, "Well who the fuck made you leader around here!" Sasori sighed as he spoke up, "Tobi is in charge Deidara…don't forget that. Not to mention…from what the sand nin say about Pein, he won't be an easy fight." The blond haired man grumbled as he continued to stare down Itachi. Finally, the tension was broken when Shizune stepped in front of them.

Shizune poked Itachi and demanded, "Tobi wants to see you!" He nodded and began to walk away. As he made his way around the corner Deidara flipped him off. "Kisame-chan…tell me about your wonderful trip to Lightning Country. Did you see any artistic masterpieces?" Kisame gave Deidara a what-the-fuck look and laughed, "Yeah…we saw rainbows on a beach…with crashing waves and a romantic sunset." The blonde haired man laughed as he shook his head, "That isn't true art. No Kisame…ART IS AN EXPLOSION! A single glorious moment where everything lights up and bursts into a brief but beautiful display!"

"Of your gay pride…" Kisame laughed at Deidara. The blonde haired man waved him off as he began to sculpt clay. Sasori changed the mood of the conversation as he began again, "So, are the rumors about Konan true? Is she dead?" Shizune answered him, "Yes, she used her most powerful technique and committed suicide to kill Pein. Though Tobi says Pein is alive." Deidara smiled as he held his hand to his heart, "Konan did that?"

Sasori sighed as he stared away, "Such a shame…" Deidara spoke up again in a sincere tone, "She went out with a bang…a true artist! I only hope to be that lucky."

XXXXX

Itachi made his way down to the waterfall where Madara normally spent most of his time and walked up behind him. The man turned to look at him as he approached and sighed, "Itachi…Zetsu brings good news." Zetsu appeared out of the wall next to Itachi and walked towards the two Uchihas. Zetsu began to speak, "Pein is alive…and so is Konan." Itachi looked at Madara and shrugged, "I don't understand what the point of that is."

Madara sighed as he stood up, "Konan is undercover as Naruto's follower at the moment. Zetsu claims that there are numerous sightings of him and Konan in Takigakure." Itachi looked distressed, "You ordered Konan to lure him here…" Madara nodded as he clapped his hands, "Yes…so insightful Itachi. Yes, and when he arrives…I'll finally get to see him for myself."

Itachi looked worried as he asked bluntly, "What do you intend to do with him?" Madara smiled as he took off his mask and looked at Itachi with a smirk, "I merely want him to see things from a different perspective. I'll give him a choice…if he refuses then he will die." Itachi snorted in disapproval, "You're a fool if you think he's just going to surrender to you." Madara was angered by Itachi's input and spoke darkly, "Never forget why I spared your insignificant life Itachi…Soon everything will be as it should, and Naruto shall be the catalyst to a great becoming." Itachi remained silent as Madara pulled the book he had been reading out of his pocket, "This…is a priceless artifact Itachi. Hashirama knew this book was special…so he hid it somewhere in Konoha. Imagine the irony that the main thing my old friend tried to conceal from me ends up right in my hands…HAHAHA!"

Itachi was confused, "What makes it so valuable?" Madara grinned as he opened up the last page, "I understand now." Itachi stared at him awaiting an answer before Madara looked at him annoyed, "Tell the others to prepare for Pein and Konan's arrival. Don't disturb me until Hidan and Kakuzu arrive. You're dismissed Itachi…get out of my sight." Itachi muttered, "Whatever…" as he began to walk away. Before he turned the corner Madara called out, "Itachi…" The Uchiha turned to meet Madara's cold gaze and shuddered as he spoke, "just remember who you belong to." He glared as he walked away leaving Madara alone with Zetsu. Zetsu's dark half began to speak, "Orochimaru is still an issue we have to deal with Tobi…when I last saw him, he was plotting to capture a powerful body. He doesn't know much about Naruto thankfully."

The man nodded and leaned against the wall, "His death is inevitable…and irrelevant. The good news is that Konan is proceeding with the plan perfectly…the new world is coming soon." Zetsu began to ask curiously, "What did you discover in that book?" Madara chuckled as he pulled it out and looked at it, "All in due time Zetsu…everything is on a need to know basis at the moment." Zetsu's had a disapproving glare on his face much to Madara's surprise as he replied, "I am not a pawn, Tobi, I can handle sensitive information." Madara chuckled and waved his hand at Zetsu, "You're dismissed Zetsu, keep a close eye on Itachi for the time being." The plant man left without a word as he melted into the wall.

XXXXX

Konan, Fu, and Naruto were all sprawled naked under the sheets of a queen sized bed. Sunlight poured into the room and woke Naruto with its bright rays. He opened his eyes and examined the room around him. It took a few moments for him to recollect his memories of the night before. He looked at the two sleeping women pressed against him and silently laughed to himself. '_Wow…last night was intense. It's so ironic that women like me now…' _The laughter of a familiar voice could be heard in his head, **"That servant of yours was right, you're trying to pull off that smooth criminal thing. It works a lot better than the optimistic idiotic hero shit you were doing back in Konoha!" **Naruto retorted back to Kyuubi sarcastically, '_Yeah I just love taking personality and relationship advice from an evil fox demon!_'

Kyuubi snorted in disgust, **"Hey don't address me with that attitude mortal! You are a product of my mercy and compassion!" **Naruto laughed at the fox, '_Mercy? Compassion? Kyuubi what the fuck are you talking about? I'll admit that you've been a big help, but let's get real here…you're still evil.' _**"Your views of evil are part of that black and white mentality. Tell me, are those Konoha villagers any less 'evil' than I am for the way they treated you? Is the one who seeks power any less 'evil' than those who oppress him? Are your friends evil for killing people in your name?"**

Naruto was unsure on how to respond to Kyuubi as he reflected on the fox's philosophies. '_So what you're saying is that good and evil don't exist?_' The fox chuckled, **"That's exactly what I am saying. Good and Evil are both points of view. Those Konoha fools consider themselves the good guys as it were, but to you they are the wicked oppressors. Do you understand what I am trying to convey?" **Naruto sighed, '_So how does one know which side is right or wrong?_' Kyuubi continued, **"Those are just words…and words like 'Good' and 'Evil' or 'Right' and 'Wrong' don't have any meaning…the only thing with lasting meaning is power." **

'_Had you told me that three years ago I wouldn't have believed it…but you make a valid point.' _The fox laughed in his head, **"All of my points are valid."**

Konan began to stir as she felt the sunlight bathe her face. She opened her eyes and looked at Naruto who was deep in thought. She stared at him awkwardly as she sat up. Naruto turned his blank gaze to her and smiled. She continued to stare in silence at the scene before her. His golden-orange hair seemed to burn with a mystical glow in the morning sunlight along with his radiant skin and his lucid silvery purple eyes. Konan was lost in awe as she continued to admire the man she claimed the night before. Naruto looked at her confusedly and spoke up, "Is something wrong Konan?" She blushed as she turned her back to him facing away. Naruto raised an eyebrow as she sat up. '_You are truly something…Naruto. I'm dreading this trip of ours…I just hope you remain open-minded in the days to come._'

Naruto placed his hand on Konan's back and spoke up, "Are you alright Konan? Is something wrong?" She sat up and got out of the bed and began to get dressed. "Everything's fine Pein…I mean Naruto." Naruto sighed as he looked at her distant face, "Seriously, what's bothering you?" She had a slightly irritated look on her face and snapped back, "I said I'm fine!" Naruto shrugged in defeat as she continued getting dressed. By this time the green haired girl Fu had woken up and she was beginning to straddle Naruto. "Good morning, Naruto! Did you sleep well last night? I hope I didn't tire you out too bad!" Naruto laughed as he replied, "Yeah right, you passed out if I remember correctly." Fu cutely shot back, "Well how about we have a rematch right now!" Konan cut in venomously, "We have business to attend to today. You can be on your way hustler."

Fu gave Konan an amused look, "I'm the hustler huh? You were the one moaning like a little schoolgirl last night!" Konan glared fiercely at the mint-haired jinchuuriki, "GET OUT!" Fu laughed as she jumped out of bed, her naked body completely exposed. "Why don't you make me babe?" Konan speared the naked girl onto the bed and began to start choking her senseless. Paper wrapped itself around Fu as Konan tried to asphyxiate her. Fu started choking before Naruto intervened, "Konan, STOP!" The azure beauty released her vice grip and the paper reformed back into her body. Fu was gagging for air as she pointed a finger at Konan, "I've had it with this psycho bitch! I'm out of here!" Fu quickly slipped into her outfit and left without another word.

Naruto turned to Konan and let out a sigh, "Konan, I know you don't like her, but was that really necessary?" The blue haired woman was completely silent as she refused to make eye contact with Naruto. He began to get dressed and heard Kyuubi chime in, **"One's a nymphomaniac with attention problems and the other is an envious sociopath who just so happens to be a control freak…you've got your work cut out for you." **Naruto knew the fox was right as he examined Konan's passive aggressive demeanor while they got dressed. After a long awkward silence she finally spoke up, "What the fuck is wrong with you!" Naruto gave her a confused look, "I don't quite follow…what do you mean?" She growled angrily, "You know exactly what I mean! If you've got a thing for other women then why don't you just fucking say so! What the fuck is so great about her anyways? Do you like whores Naruto? Do you want me to be a whore just like her? I have absolutely no interest in being one of your ladies of the evening. Don't fucking push my buttons you jerk!" (LOL whoever has heard this speech in real life…I have large amounts of empathy for you)

Naruto face palmed as he began to understand Konan's anger, "Why is that such a big deal to you anyways? I was under the impression you and I are friends." She icily leered at him as she got up in his face, "I'll just bet you are! Listen asshole, don't do me any favors…from here on out we're strictly business partners and I only work for you!" Naruto had a callous look on his face as he responded, "Fine…let's go deal with these village elders, then you and I are heading for the Valley of the End." The pair left without another word. Naruto was shirtless due to his shirt being sliced up the night before, and was attracting a lot of unwanted attention. Many people stared at his buff and well-toned body, but the main attraction was the seal on his stomach. Although most people wouldn't really recognize it as one around this village, Naruto still hoped that nobody would go announcing it, otherwise Takigakure would have a very bad day.

As Naruto and Konan walked downstairs, they would occasionally chance glances at each other hoping the other wasn't looking. Their eyes made contact on several instances which resulted in simultaneous huffs. They finally reached the entrance to tower and were intercepted by Shibuki, "Ah, Lord Pein and Lady Konan! The elders are in the council chambers this way." Naruto nodded as he relied, "Take us to them, we will finalize this deal and then Konan and I must be on our way." Shibuki led them into a large dome shaped room within the tower and the group approached a long table with half a dozen elderly civilians were sitting with Bukirama. A large group of Taki Jounin also filled the room. Bukirama immediately noticed Naruto's presence and spoke up, "Everyone may I have your attention! Lord Pein and Lady Konan are here to officially validate our treaty with them and to finalize our deal!"

Silence filled the large dome room as Naruto began to pace around, "As your leader has no doubt informed you by now, I am the autocratic authority of Otogakure and hold large influence over the eastern lands. Konan here is the feared dictator of Amegakure and is forsworn into an allegiance with me." Silence continued to fill the room until Bukirama added, "As many of you know, Iwagakure has set mind to invade us and wipe our village out. Lord Pein and Lady Konan have offered us a most beneficial deal which I strongly support." Several murmurs of skepticism and confusion swept through the group of elders as Bukirama finished. One man who appeared to be a retired shinobi blurted out, "What sort of deal are we talking about? Bukirama you never mentioned this!" Naruto answered for him, "We have offered protection for your village…the only price I demand is loyalty and supplies for the new alliance I am creating."

The man shot back fiercely, "Absolutely not! Tell me we are not considering this Bukirama! We cannot ally ourselves with notorious criminals otherwise we'll become a target to the five great shinobi nations!" Bukirama calmly cut in, "Relax Jugoma, consider what this means for us…Iwagakure is terrified of Amegakure mainly Konan. If we were allies with Ame, that would give them reason to think before they tried invading us…lest they risk a joint assault from our allies resulting in severe casualties for them." Jugoma huffed in disapproval as he asked, "How does that protect us from Kumo and Konoha?"

Naruto sighed at the stubborn ignorance the man was displaying and he cut in darkly, "I will put this in new terms for you old man…Konoha and Kumo are my bitches right now! Just like this village. I could turn this place into a fucking crater in minutes. Ask yourself this…do you really want to be my enemy?" Bukirama quickly interjected trying to calm the tension, "He speaks out of turn Lord Pein…you are very generous and on behalf of the village I would like to swear our allegiance to you in front of our senior shinobi and village elders as irrefutable proof. We have also created this document and we shall now all sign it, offering our loyalty and whatever supplies you will need should you request it." Jugoma stood up angrily and shouted, "NO we can't let our village become associated with terrorists and criminals! Don't let Bukirama do this!"

Before anybody could say another word, a kunai impaled the old man through the neck and he fell to the floor. Everyone turned to look at Konan who had a very disturbing look on her face, "I'm sick of this diplomatic bullshit…sign the paper or die!" Without hesitation, the inhabitants of the room all signed the document. After Naruto finally signed it, he handed the document to Bukirama, "I'm entrusting this to you…this symbolizes my authority and responsibilities for your village." Bukirama bowed low and the rest of the room followed suit except Konan. Bukirama chimed proudly, "All hail Lord Pein and Lady Konan!" A chorus rang through the room echoing the words as Naruto took his leave. "We must be on our way. Send messengers to Oto and Ame and request back up here. Use that document as prove of our alliance and show it to the ambassadors."

As the Naruto and Konan left the room, the blue haired woman continued to dread their next destination. Naruto looked over at the sad beauty on Konan's face and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry about earlier Konan…I don't want you to think I undervalue you. C'mon let's go get some breakfast before our journey." She looked over him shocked and felt extremely guilty as he smiled at her. '_Don't make this any harder for me than it already is…_' She tried to ignore him, but Naruto stepped in front of her and held her chin. She audibly moaned as his hand stroked her face and he stared into her amber eyes. Konan felt intoxicated with Naruto's smell and his touch. Before she knew what came over her, she smashed her lips into his and wrapped her arms around his neck. The two shared a passionate, blissful make-out session before an awkward tower attendant coughed nervously, "Excuse me, Lord Pein would like a shirt?"

Naruto looked at the sheepish man and chuckled, "Yeah I wouldn't mind…I seem to draw a lot of attention without it." The man handed Naruto a sleeveless black shirt and he put it on. It was unsurprisingly small for him which it made it slightly tight, but he didn't care…as long as it covered his seal then he would be fine. "**I am shocked those idiots didn't notice that was a seal on your stomach haha!" **'_I guess they were too distracted to notice…still though I do find that rather odd.'_

As the attendant walked away, Konan spoke up finally, "Breakfast does sound good…what did you have in mind?" Naruto smiled proudly as the pair walked downstairs, "Well I just so happened to notice that their was a nice ramen stand in the market the other day." Konan shrugged, "Whatever's fine with me." The duo continued on their way and made it to the ramen stand. As they arrived, they surprisingly found Fu sitting at the booth quietly eating with a gloomy look on her face. The owner of the stand was glaring at Fu, but immediately quit as Naruto walked up to the stand. Naruto sat down directly next to Fu and Konan sat on Naruto's other side. The mint haired girl looked up in shock to see Naruto sitting next to her. He smiled at her as she looked at him, "Hey Fu, mind if we sit here and eat with you?" Konan huffed as she refused to acknowledge Fu in any way. Fu beamed as she spoke up, "I didn't know you liked ramen, Pein?" He nodded as he turned to the owner with a casual look on his face, "Are you kidding? It used to be my favorite food. Get a couple bowls for me and the lady here." Naruto pointed towards Konan. The ramen stand owner nodded and began to prepare the meal without a word. In literally no time at all, several bowls were placed in front of them. Naruto and Konan began to eat while Fu was finishing her bowls. Fu looked at Naruto nervously and started to stutter, "So…umm P-Pein…I was uh…w-wondering if I could come with you?" Konan choked on her ramen and shot a sharp look in her direction, "WHAT!" Fu ignored her and awaited Naruto's answer. He smiled as he laughed to himself, "Well I don't know…Konan and I are going on a dangerous mission to the Valley of the End…how well can you fight?"

Fu smiled as she posed cheerfully, "I have useful abilities trust me…I am a jinchuuriki after all." Naruto nodded his head, "I'll take your word for it. Plus, you'll be a lot safer with me than hanging around in this village anyways." Konan's eyes shot open in surprise about the revelation, _'So that's why Naruto likes her…no matter, this actually works better for the plan. It'll save us the trouble of capturing her later.' _After finishing their meal, the trio got up and left following Naruto as he headed for a cave at the far end of the village. As he approached, the guard detail saluted him but one spoke up hesitantly, "Lord Pein, where are you taking the girl?" Naruto looked at Fu and back at the guard, "That's none of your concern is it?" He fearfully nodded and replied, "Take care Lord Pein…I'll inform Bukirama that you have his daughter with you."

Naruto looked at Fu shocked and asked, "Your Bukirama's daughter? I guess that makes sense seeing as how you're a jinchuuriki." She nodded as they walked through the cave, "Not like it matters much anyways…these villagers either fear me or they ignore me." Naruto changed the subject as they approached a light at the end of the cave, "Onward to the Valley of the End…I am anxious to meet your old colleagues Konan." She nodded quietly as she imagined the possible scenarios, '_I'm not…'_

XXXXX

Zabuza and Haku made their way through the borders of Grass Country at a swift pace. The pair had been running since they set off the day before. They began to wind down and slow their pace as they were completely exhausted from the long run. Finally, they landed near the edge of the forest and made their way onto a trail. They began to catch their breaths as they walked casually along the path. After a brief silence, Zabuza spoke up, "We made good distance, but I suggest we walk for a while or look for an ideal spot to set up camp for the night." Haku nodded as she chimed in, "So Zabuza, I want to know exactly what it is you hope to accomplish by going to Water Country?" The man sighed as he pulled his sword off his back and rested it on his shoulders wrapping an arm around it. "Well we're going to stir up some trouble that's what…plus I have some old scores to settle with Yagura…"

Haku skeptically spoke up, "Yeah I don't think it's a good idea to go bust into Kirigakure without Naruto with us." Zabuza smiled behind his mask as he turned to face Haku, "Haku…whoever said that we were going into the city?" The ice princess immediately caught meaning to Zabuza's intentions and smiled, "I see…you want to lure him out…but how can you be so sure he'll take the bait?" Zabuza shrugged, "If I know anything about him, it's that he is a fearful ruler. I have absolutely no doubt that he will send his lieutenants after us first. That'll just make him easier to take down if we eliminate them. Whether or not we can take Yagura himself down remains to be seen…but Naruto has trained us well over the past three years, and I'm sure the two of us could take him." Haku smiled as she nodded, "I can only imagine the favor we'll gain with Naruto if we land a crushing blow to Kirigakure for him."

Zabuza laughed, "That's the spirit!" as the two continued on their way cheerfully.

XXXXX

Guren, Tayuya and Kimimaro, wandered around the outskirts of Kusagakure. Tayuya was extremely bored and made sure she let everyone know, "What the fuck are we doing Guren?" The crystal user (No meth jokes lol) looked at the red headed girl and sighed, "We're looking for the bunker…if I remember correctly, Orochimaru said that it had a secret entrance near the western edge of the village." Kimimaro calmly interjected, "The entrance is at the western inn…" Guren looked at him annoyed and yelled at him, "You knew that this entire time! We've been searching for this damn thing for over a day!" Kimimaro nodded as he elaborated, "I suspected it was there, but after doing a sweep through the village it has only confirmed my suspicions." Guren face-palmed as the group headed back to the inn nearby. Tayuya asked curiously, "I'm surprised Orochimaru doesn't have spies on the lookout…if he spotted us he would have alerted us most likely." Kimimaro plainly answered her question, "Orochimaru only recently set up a bunker here. He informed me that revealing the location to anyone would be dangerous for him."

Guren looked confused, "Then how the hell did Konan find out about it? As far as I know, Orochimaru only told me he had a base over here…I didn't think he was actually here." Kimimaro shook his head in disbelief, "I have no idea…it would take an elite spy to track Orochimaru like that…" (GOGO Zetsu!) The trio walked inside the inn which was surprisingly empty. Kimimaro looked around and pointed at a door, "There…that door most likely leads to the basement." Tayuya scoffed, "This doesn't seem like a very defensible bunker…" He chuckled at her as he shook his head, "No…the basement most likely leads to the bunker Tayuya…" She flipped him off as she replied, "Fuck you and your condescending tone!" Guren cut in fiercely, "Enough! You two better look fucking convincing once we see Orochimaru!" Kimimaro thought for a moment and spoke up, "Come to think of it…what will we tell him when he asks us how we found him?"

Tayuya laughed as she provided feedback, "Err…that's a good question heh." Guren had a completely stoic face as she retorted, "You two just leave the talking to me…" As they made their way through the basement, they found a long tunnel much too Kimimaro's satisfaction. They followed to an underground bunker and walked inside. As they entered they heard a familiar voice speaking to somebody, "Ah…Anko-hime, you are wrong…I did not abandon you. You left, though ironically you stand before me once again. I am impressed you found this base…Kabuto must be dead if you knew how to get here…such a shame, I always liked that boy." Anko sighed as she nodded, "Yes…Kabuto is dead, and I was wondering if you would be willing to accept me as your servant once again?"

Orochimaru had a wicked grin on his pale face as he walked closer to Anko. His long tongue ran across her cheek causing her to visibly shiver. The sound of footsteps caught his attention as Orochimaru turned to see his three top lieutenants entering the room. A look of confusion plastered his face for a moment before he smiled again, "Ah I see you were insightful enough to find this bunker, Kimimaro. Guren, Tayuya? Is there something you require of me that would bring you all the way to my hidden base?" Guren nodded as she answered sternly, "Yes Lord Orochimaru, we came to inform you that Kabuto is dead…also, Konan and Pein were sighted battling in Ame."

The snake nin giggled evilly as he nodded his head, "Yes…either one of them would make fine candidates for my next body. Did you find out anything more about Pein?" Guren shook her head, "No, all we hear of him are rumors and legends…he's practically a phantom…there's no way to track his spontaneous movements." Orochimaru looked at Guren curiously and began to pace around the group, "You sure about that? I would hate to find out if you're lying to me." Tayuya cut in to relieve the stress on Guren, "We haven't seen a sign of him Lord Orochimaru. We did however find some of his followers." Guren kept a straight face but was inwardly cursing Tayuya's comment. Orochimaru smiled, "Ah, I see…they were the two dead missing nin right?" Kimimaro nodded as he spoke up, "They were apparently looking for him…we sent them on their way." Orochimaru sighed as he replied, "Well we should definitely keep our eyes open for him…" He turned back to Anko and he laughed again, "Well now…since you three are here, maybe you want to help me reinitiate Anko-hime?"

"Certainly Lord Orochimaru." Guren answered as she made eye contact with Anko. The two women knew the other one was lying so they mutually had a silent agreement not to blow each other's cover. Orochimaru laughed as he creepily hissed, "Take off your coat Anko…" She did as commanded and Orochimaru walked around her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Yes…your cursed seal is still very strong. If you truly wish to prove your loyalty to me, then you will activate it entirely." Anko worried to herself as the four sound shinobi surrounded her. Guren placed a crystal prison to hold Anko in place as Kimimaro and Tayuya activated their cursed seals. They both placed a hand on either shoulder and Orochimaru went through several hand seals. Anko was immediately enveloped in the dark purple chakra and cried out in agony as it burned. Tayuya and Kimimaro released their energy to magnify the chakra, and the three felt simultaneous pain as the cursed seal finished enveloping Anko.

The two released their grip on Anko's shoulder and receded their curse marks. Anko's was still active and she felt Orochimaru laugh as he commanded, "Bow to me Anko…" Without the question the woman knelt to the snake nin much to his enjoyment. He licked his lips as began to laugh maniacally, "Hahahahahaha! Excellent, welcome back my apprentice!" The curse mark finally receded on Anko as she stood up. Orochimaru casually examined "his followers" and said, "Well now I have several jobs for all of you…first of all, Guren and Anko I need you to investigate what happened at the battle between Pein and Konan…your investigation better turn up some useful facts." The two women nodded and began to set off leaving Kimimaro and Tayuya alone with Orochimaru. He looked at them both for a moment and smiled, "I have good news…Sasuke has been spotted near the edges of Grass Country…you two are going to retrieve him and bring him to me. Then we are going to properly initiate Sasuke…"

Tayuya and Kimimaro nodded and made their way to the exit. As they walked out Orochimaru stated coolly, "When you two get back, we're going to have a little talk about Guren…" They both nodded and left swiftly.

XXXXX

In the wonderfully misty city of Kirigakure, the young Mizukage was calmly sitting at his desk looking over reports. '_Konan and Pein battled? Wow, I wonder what Pein is doing in the west though? Hmm interesting._' His pink eyes scanned over the damage reports and the intercepted casualty reports from Konoha. The sound of footsteps brought him from his contemplations as he looked up and saw a familiar face. The face of an all too recognizable auburn-haired woman. "Mei…is there something you need?" She had a casual look on her face and shrugged, "Nah, not really, though I was wondering if you read those reports about the battle of Amegakure yet?" He nodded his head as he answered, "I am reading those as we speak. It seems very strange that Pein would attack Ame…" Mei raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, "It's not that odd…a terrorist attacking a village? Tell me something I haven't heard before."

"The strange part is he attacked Ame at the same time Suna and Konoha were invading Ame…yet they had a retreat from what I understand." Mei looked confused, "That does seem rather odd…what reason would a notorious S class criminal gain from attacking Ame? That's the head of the criminal cartels in the west." Yagura leaned back in his chair and turned to face the window overlooking the ocean, "I don't think I've told you everything we know about Pein…as you know we had an Anbu survivor from the raiding party that attacked Pein. The official reports are all bullshit…but I feel it is time for you to know the truth Mei…" The woman's curiosity was piqued as she looked anxiously at the Mizukage, "Tell me Yagura-sama…what really happened?"

Yagura sighed deeply as he began, "I hand picked a full platoon of Anbu to hunt down and kill Pein as you know…this was over a year ago. Pein was wiping out entire villages and leaving a huge trail of blood along our borders and through many towns in Water Country. Every time I sent individual spies after him they would end up dead or missing." Mei nodded with a bored look on her face, "I know all of that already…" Yagura sighed as he bowed his head, "Very well…here's what happened…the platoon assaulted Pein and were met with three individuals. Pein was described to be a masked individual with purple eyes…and his followers were identified as Zabuza and Haku."

Mei looked skeptical and laughed, "No way…those two are both dead! Wait…you said that Pein had purple eyes? That would mean only one thing…he has the Rinnegan!" Yagura nodded his head as he confirmed her discovery, "Yes…the fact that dead people are following him only confirms it as true…I ordered Anbu to keep this a secret under penalty of death. I don't know much about the Rinnegan, Mei, but from what I hear it is a bloodline trait of the Sage of Six Paths." Mei looked shocked as she ran her hand through her silky long hair, "I thought that the sage was just a legend…a shinobi myth." Yagura sighed deeply as he replied, "So did I…Konoha has requested numerous amounts of information regarding Pein, but I have kept them in the dark. If word of this got around, it would cause mass panic and likely lead to full scale wars."

Mei sarcastically remarked, "Yeah because full scale wars haven't been going on anyways." Yagura chuckled lightly as he nodded, "At any rate, I just thought you should know…also, I feel like I am in danger. You're most likely to be my successor should something happen to me." Mei looked at him worriedly, "What do you mean if something happens to you?" He felt uneasy as he looked around, "Call me paranoid, but I feel like somebody or something is out to get me. I've been seeing strange things lately…" Mei laughed as she stood up, "C'mon Yagura…you're the damn Mizukage…don't be a coward or I'll succeed you early." He casually stood up and walked over to the beautiful woman, "We had a mysterious visitor here a couple of months ago…all I am saying is watch your back Mei, we're high priority targets."

She casually waved off his concern, "You worry too much Yagura. Let your paranoia go for a bit and take a break." He nodded as he left the office leaving Mei alone in the room. She sat down in his desk and began to smile, "Hello, I'm Mei the Godaime Mizukage…nice to meet you. Oh you think I'm the most beautiful Kage ever? Why thank you mister ambassador." Mei put on Yagura's nearby Mizukage hat and leaned back in "her" chair, "Ah yeah…I could get used to this." Suddenly a loud shout interrupted Mei's daydreaming as an Anbu Captain ran in the office, "Mizukage-sama, we have more news regarding the battle of Amegakure!" The captain noticed Mei wearing the hat and the two stared at each other in awkward silence for a moment.

"Umm…where is Mizukage?" Mei beamed proudly as she crossed her arms, "C'mon hun don't tell me you don't recognize your own Mizukage? I'm hurt." The captain face palmed as he retorted, "I don't have times for your games Mei, where is Yagura-sama?" Mei shrugged, "I don't know, he said something about going to fire one of his Anbu captains…what was your name again?" The man growled and flipped her off. She cheerfully laughed at him, "No thanks honey…you're not my type." The captain left furiously annoyed as Mei triumphantly giggled at his anger. She looked over some of the reports of Yagura's desk and something caught her eye. '_Kisame the infamous S class missing nin has been spotted in Fire Country…hmmm what else in here…Pein conquered Otogakure?_ _This guy must be a big deal if he's got this Rinnegan…this makes more sense now. He is taking over the smaller villages so he can move in on the bigger ones…he took Oto, and his next target was Ame. I should go find that Anbu survivor and see what he knows about Pein…' _Mei sat up and searched around the office for confidential files.

XXXXX

Gaara, the Kazekage, had just arrived at Konoha. He had received urgent news from his brother about the attack on Ame and the appearance of Pein. He and Tsunade were going to discuss tactical defense and pool information. Following him was his beautiful sister the ambassador of Suna, and an escort of Suna Jounin. As they passed through the gates to Konoha, the guards saluted and they were met by a welcoming party of jounin and Tsunade herself. Gaara calmly greeted the Hokage, "Good evening Hokage-sama, thank you for allowing us to visit you village." Sakura who was standing next to Tsunade couldn't help but notice how well-mannered Gaara had become. He still had an emotionless face, but was much less terrifying than she remembered.

Tsunade smiled as she bowed to Gaara, "Thank you for the visit Kazekage, come to my office and bring your trusted advisors, we have business to discuss." Gaara nodded and ordered his escort to disperse, "Jounin captains with me, the rest of you are free to enjoy the village. Mind yourselves." The escort party began to disperse and several jounin remained with Gaara and Temari as they followed Tsunade. The blonde haired woman spoke up, "I am extremely grateful that you saved my jounin…" Gaara nodded and respectfully relied, "I owe it to the friendship between our two countries but I am not the one you should be thanking. My brother is the one who ordered a back up company to follow our initial party, and he is the one who rescued your men."

Tsunade smiled as she nodded her head, "I'll be sure to thank him when I see him then." Temari laughed as she interjected, "Yeah well I'm glad he finally did something right…" Gaara smiled much to Sakura and Tsunade's surprise as he nodded his head. After a couple minutes of silence, the group finally made their way to the Hokage Tower and arrived in the council chamber. Much to everyone's displeasure, Danzo and several elders were there. "Ah good, both of you are here, now the meeting can officially begin," Danzo spoke as if he was the one in charge. Gaara shot him a death glare and sat down next to Tsunade.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, a man with a huge cut across his nose was sitting at an all too famous ramen stand thinking about Naruto. Not a day went by that Iruka hadn't thought about his old student and friend. '_Why would he leave…Tsunade can't be right! Naruto wouldn't do that!_' The former chuunin surprised many people when he quit teaching at the academy, and now he spent most of his days training on the side or doing missions. Iruka had been promoted to Jounin shortly after he quit teaching at the academy due to his intense dedication to training and missions. The word Tsunade used to describe him was empty. That was the exact feeling he had too.

Helping Naruto was one of his major purposes in life, and once he was gone, Iruka felt truly unhappy that he no longer had anything to fill him. Naruto was his only family. He sighed as he stared into his bowl of ramen, '_Wherever he is, I just hope that he finds some happiness and some peace.' _

XXXXX

Anko and Guren were a good distance away from Orochimaru's base, and Anko decided it was a good time to break the ice, "So…how did you end up working for Naruto?" Guren shot a surprised look at Anko as she was completely caught off guard. After a moment, Guren regained her demeanor and answered, "You're one of those Konoha nin…how do you know Naruto?" Anko shot Guren a teasing look, "Aww, he never told you about his past did he? I've got a deal for you babe…you tell me what you know and I'll tell you what I know." Guren laughed at Anko and shook her head, "Or you could have an accident out here and I could just bury your body and nobody would ever know."

Anko licked her lips deviously as she stared at Guren, "Make my day…I'm sure you would be fun." Guren snorted, "You first…why were you following us? Also, what the hell are you trying to do getting back in league with Orochimaru?" Anko laughed as she replied, "I am looking for Naruto…since you guys are his lackeys I figured that if I followed you he would turn up eventually. A better question is why are you working for Naruto? Aren't you guys Orochimaru's top lieutenants?" Guren nodded, "Yeah we are. Since Kabuto died I would technically be Orochimaru's second in command. Kimimiro and Tayuya are both part of the Sound Five…well the only surviving members. They are Orochimaru's elite operatives. By the way…why the hell are you looking for Naruto anyways?"

Anko smiled wickedly, "Oh…he just owes me a favor, plus I was going to ask him if I could join his entourage." Guren immediately caught wind of what Anko meant and scowled, "Oh I get it…you're just some kind of groupie who wants to suck his dick because he left you star struck…am I right?" Much to Guren's surprise Anko nodded, "Yes that's one hundred percent true! Although I intend to do more than that…" Guren sighed heavily, "Just what we needed, another damn girl to join the damn group. What the fuck…"

Anko chimed in matter-of-factly, "Well if you're not good enough to keep him, then he is too good for you." Guren sighed, "Not to burst your bubble princess…but you've got a lot of competition." Anko waved her off and laughed, "Well that's good…that'll help me identify them so I can kill them off early." Guren sighed as she rubbed her temples, "Whatever bitch…you'll find out for yourself sooner or later."

XXXXX

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO YEAH! I updated!

…again I just apologize for the two and a half month delay on that update. Like I said above, I have been rather busy between college and my new job. Plus with everything in between, I never really found time to sit down and work on this fic. I am of course a procrastinator, but I hope you guys understand my reasoning. You guys are probably going to hate me for this, but this chapter was about three quarters of the way done since January…I'm a terrible person.

BUT FEAR NOT! I WILL MAKE IT UP TO YOU! There will be honorary FAST UPDATES to earn your forgiveness!

Anyways, funny recaps on this chapter:

I know Akatsuki seem a bit…I don't know the right word for it…different? Though I tried to illustrate their main nature without going too OOC or anything. I hope I wasn't the only person who found the crashing waves comments by Kisame to be funny.

I brought Mei in this chapter! I know some of you will be pleased to finally see one of our favorite kunoichis in action. I have no idea if I portrayed her accurately or not, but if not…oh well. I tried to keep a mix between funny and serious, but I hope it wasn't over the top for you guys.

There was a lot going on in this chapter…is the whole thing with Konan foreshadowing? What will our notorious female Akatsuki member do? Well I will most likely pump out another chapter this week for you guys…all ten thousand words and everything. Take care. Love you!


	10. Chapter 10

Yeah like I said…another quick update. Although with Dragon Age 2 coming out in a few days…It may be a bit longer for the next one.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this one…here's chapter 10.

**Chapter 10: Old Friends**

Over in Konoha, Gaara and Tsunade were sitting in the Hokage office. Tsunade leaned back in her chair and let out a heavy sigh, "So that's all we know about Pein…he's apparently got the Rinnegan…it was a bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths." Gaara nodded as he stared out the window with a distant look on his face. Tsunade continued, "Apparently, Pein and Konan waged a battle outside of Amegakure…Danzo said that his ROOT agents have found a massive crater. We have reason to believe they are both dead."

Gaara turned his gaze upon Tsunade and calmly asked, "You said he knew something about Naruto?" Tsunade nodded, "Yes, Sasuke asked him about Naruto, and Pein said that Naruto died three years ago." Gaara had an unconvinced look on his face, "That seems unlikely…Naruto is a jinchuuriki. I'm not sure if you are aware of this Hokage…but if a jinchuuriki dies then their Biju dies as well. The Kyuubi is extremely powerful and wouldn't allow that to happen." Tsunade nodded her head and calmly replied, "Unless the Sage of Six Paths killed him…" Gaara had a blank look on his face waiting for Tsunade to elaborate, "You see…Pein most likely killed Naruto." Gaara's mind wandered for a brief moment after the Hokage's theory, '_Maybe…or maybe Pein is trying to protect Naruto…_'

"I don't want to risk any kind of attack on this village, and since our forces are weakened at the moment due to our battle with Ame, I would request that you leave a platoon of jounin here." Gaara nodded as he thought it through, "Your village is a higher priority target anyways." Tsunade smiled as she leaned back casually in her chair, "Oh and I would like to request for your brother and sister to stay here for the time being…to ensure stability from the additional Suna nin in Konoha." Gaara nodded his head respectfully, "Yes they command loyalty and act upon my best interests, so leaving them here would be better for both of us. I'm sorry to cut this short Hokage, but I must be on my way back to Suna today. Things get a bit chaotic if one of us isn't there to uphold stability. Plus with these battles breaking out all over the place, I want to ensure my people's safety."

Tsunade nodded, "Very well, I'll send you encrypted reports and inform you of anything worth knowing." Gaara stood up and walked to the door, "That would be most appreciated." Gaara left the office and sighed as he made his way down the stairs, '_Naruto goes missing three years ago…and this criminal Pein shows up around that time. Naruto is apparently dead and that was confirmed by Pein? I can't help but think that maybe…_' Gaara was interrupted from his thoughts when Kankuro and Temari intercepted him. Temari, in her usual assertive way demanded answers, "What's going on Gaara? What do they know about this Pein?" Kankuro crossed his arms, "Yes, I am also rather eager to find out what the Hokage proposed."

Gaara shook his head slowly, "They don't seem to know anything about him other then the fact that he has the Rinnegan. The Hokage believes he is the Rikudo Sennin…" Temari raised an eyebrow at that, "Sounds a bit far-fetched to me…what did the Hokage want us to do?" Gaara sighed as he faced his sister, "You and Kankuro are going to stay in Konoha for the time being along with a platoon of our Jounin. Our presence here will ward off Konoha from the other nations should they get the idea to attack it during this crisis." Kankuro let out a long groan, "What? This village is full of powerful shinobi the only villages that would risk attacking it right now would be Kumogakure and Kirigakure…but even then it would take a full scale army." Temari nodded at her brother's comment, "Kankuro's right, I doubt anybody is going to attack Konoha." Gaara crossed his arms and glanced at his brother with a plain look on his face, "It's symbolic…it will solidify our alliance with Konoha and give the other nations something to think about if they think we have troops stationed in Fire Country."

Temari smirked, "Heh, I guess that makes sense…but what about you Gaara?" He casually answered her, "I am going back to Suna to protect the village. Represent us well…Temari, you're in charge of the troops here." She nodded as her brother headed for the building exit. Kankuro laughed to himself as he looked at Temari, "Well now we're stuck in this village…" Temari sighed as she shook her head, "It's not too bad, maybe you should go find yourself a nice girl or something Kankuro." "I could say the same for you Ms. I'm too Important for Relationships." Temari scowled at him and started walking away, "Just stay out of trouble…"

XXXXX

Zabuza and Haku made great progress over the past few days and were closing in on the borders of Water Country. Zabuza cracked his neck as he and Haku made their way along the trail. The ice princess sighed, "I forgot how much it sucked not having Naruto around…no offense Zabuza but you're boring me to death." The swordsman laughed as he turned to his former apprentice, "Haha I'll bet…don't worry Haku things will get fun once we start murdering towns." The woman nodded her head and laughed, "I can't wait to see how high this bounty on our heads is." Zabuza chuckled as he swung his sword over his shoulder, "Maybe we'll see another platoon of Anbu HA! They sure would love to see us again."

"You know I still regret not killing the one who escaped…" Haku said coolly. Zabuza waved his arm and laughed, "Ah who cares…let one live every now and then so they can spread the word that we are not to be fucked with!" Haku nodded, "That's true…but my only concern is that the one who escaped might have caught a glimpse of Naruto." Zabuza raised an eyebrow, "Like that would matter now…after showing his face to Otogakure then later Konan and all of those Konoha jounin, I doubt it's a secret anymore." The woman huffed irritably, "We still should not have left him…this all seems a bit pointless…we went all the way out there just to fucking split up with the others." Zabuza sighed as he nodded, "Yeah that does seem counter-productive, but look on the bright side…this gives us a chance to shine on our own so that we can prove to Naruto how useful we truly are."

"That's awfully optimistic of you Zabuza…" Haku smiled as she gave the man an amused look. The swordsman nodded his head, "What can I say…I'm a good guy!" "Says the man who talks about killing towns of people…" Haku shot back. Zabuza shrugged casually, "Well…when you put it that way…I'm a great guy!" Haku face palmed as Zabuza flexed. A brief silence filled the air for a few moments before Haku spoke, "Zabuza…I have a question." The man looked over at the brunette beauty and responded, "Alright…what is it?" Haku sighed as she looked over to him, "Naruto was focused on killing Orochimaru, but aside from the things I have heard, I don't know anything about him." The masked man shrugged, "Well, I've never met him…but from what I hear he is really pale and has these yellow snake eyes."

"Naruto seemed awfully determined to kill him." Haku stated. "He is extremely dangerous…Naruto said that he wanted to eliminate the competition for his world domination early so he wouldn't have anybody interfering with his political takeover." Zabuza replied. The ice princess shook her head in confusion, "Then why does Naruto insist on trusting those Sound nin?" Zabuza shrugged casaully, "I have no idea…I am unsure what to think of them. I trust Guren but the other two I'm not sure about…" Haku laughed, "Something about Guren rubs me the wrong way…"

Zabuza raised a brow at Haku and sighed, "Why don't you trust Guren?" Haku looked distant and spoke calmly, "She's one of Orochimaru's highest ranking followers…I just have a hard time believing she is as loyal as she appears to be." Zabuza scratched his head, "Umm, Naruto killed her…I hardly doubt that she is going to betray him. He owns her life just as he owns our lives." The woman rolled her eyes, "At any rate, I wonder how they intend to deal with Orochimaru?"

"Well since you and I are out of the picture, they can probably go undercover as double agents…it seems like Guren would most likely wait for an opportune moment to attack Orochimaru." Haku looked confused, "Why wouldn't they simply just attack him once they found him?" Zabuza shook his head, "Orochimaru is a snake…as such he probably thinks like one. I wouldn't doubt if he had escape routes planned or some ace up his sleeve. Plus I highly doubt that his former lieutenants are going to attack him head on…that would just be stupid." Haku scoffed at Zabuza's assessment, "Meh…they didn't seem that smart to me. At any rate, they better not fail, otherwise you and I will end up having to do it unless Naruto himself shows up." Zabuza shook his head, "They'll be fine, Haku…I doubt you and I will have to get involved. We should stay focused on our current mission. Naruto would probably support our current priorities because the threat of Kirigakure is growing."

Haku glanced over and wrinkled her brow, "What threat?" Zabuza sighed as he answered, "From what Naruto thinks, Yagura is likely mobilizing an army of shinobi. Our destructive conquest over the past few years has most likely left Yagura terrified of an attack on Kiri…he's extremely paranoid, and I wouldn't doubt if he doubled his armed shinobi forces…" Haku groaned in frustration, "Well that's just nice…the place must be a damn fortress by now!" Zabuza chuckled, "Well it's not all bad…I'm sure most of them are pushovers anyways…my only concern is dealing with Yagura's generals." The brunette woman nodded as she calmly stared at the ground, "They don't stand a chance against us."

The duo continued their trek in silence for about an hour before finally coming upon a large town with a harbor. Zabuza looked excited as they approached it, "Ah yes…let's commandeer one of those ships and make our way to the main island." Haku nodded as she examined the area. She spotted several shinobi, but not nearly the number she would have expected. There were many civilians casually working their jobs, loading and unloading supplies from the ships. Haku wrinkled her brow as she looked over to Zabuza, "We want Yagura to notice us right?" Zabuza nodded as he awaited Haku's proposal, "Alright…so I suggest we kill the Kiri nin and sink the rest of those ships…try not to kill civilians unless they get in the way." Zabuza raised an eyebrow skeptically, "Like anybody here is going to get in our way…I say we go on a killing spree and see what they do!" Haku grimaced at Zabuza, "Killing people isn't always the answer…I'd rather not kill innocent people if we can avoid it, but I won't hesitate if it becomes necessary. The ends always justify the means." Zabuza shrugged casually as he drew his sword, "Aw don't be such a pacifist, Haku…you're a damn killer. Be proud! But for your sake we'll do things your way and let the civilians run away."

Haku nodded at Zabuza, "That's good enough for me…I don't have a problem killing people, but I don't want to do it senselessly." The two missing nin approached the harbor and were casually walking through the crowd.. Many people were giving terrified looks at Zabuza, recognizing his sword. Zabuza and Haku soon found the crowd completely dispersing around them and backing away. Fearful looks plastered the faces of the present workers and many ran away. After a brief moment of fearful staring, a Kirigakure ninja walked out of the crowd and approached the two criminals. The man had two large swords on his back and a smug look on his face much to Zabuza's displeasure, "Well well well…what do we have here hmm? Zabuza…I thought you were dead! Ha, and if it isn't your pretty little apprentice. They said you two were alive but I could scarcely believe it until Yagura himself confirmed it." Haku huffed in annoyance as she glared at the man, "You must have a death wish if you intend to apprehend us…" The man chuckled arrogantly as he crossed his arms, "My my…you've got quite the mouth pretty thing…I'll enjoy watching you use it. You two have some nerve coming back…we know that Pein isn't with you right now. He can't protect you now!"

Haku growled loudly, "And who the fuck are you supposed to be? Some brown nosing pencil pusher? You're a fool if you think you can defeat us!"

Zabuza laughed at the man gripped his sword tighter, "You seem awfully cocky, Ameyuri…shouldn't you be licking Yagura's feet right now?" The man drew both of his swords from his back and began to laugh, "I'm one of the greatest warriors to ever emerge from Kiri…you on the other hand are a complete disgrace to our powerful village." The villagers were all scattering and hiding as the man stared Zabuza and Haku down. Haku looked at the two blades on his back and turned to look at Zabuza. She raised a brow at him, "You know him Zabuza? Is he one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"

The masked swordsman nodded at her as he looked back at the man, "Yes he is…though he doesn't deserve that the position." Ameyuri snorted at Zabuza and began to laugh, "I am not the one who betrayed the village because of some worthless dream!" A brief silence followed his statement before Zabuza responded, "I used to think that only men of honor were allowed to carry that rank…but I guess I was wrong. I was the first to stand against Yagura's tyranny! He feared me then…he fears me now!" Suddenly, a large group of Kiri Anbu surrounded the pair. Ameyuri grinned proudly as the Kiri shinobi all drew their weapons, "You always were overconfident Zabuza…your foolish pride is what got you into this mess in the first place…such a shame."

Zabuza snorted in disgust as he leered darkly, "I see you haven't changed…you're just as much the coward you were since the day that I left! You're going to die for betraying me!" Ameyuri growled furiously, "It continues to astonish me the amount of arrogance that you possess. You should be put down like the dog that you are!"

Haku cut in darkly, "So what exactly do you intend to do with this poorly assembled group of fools?" The man beamed proudly as he answered her, "Our scouts spotted you two on the roads…we knew you were coming. Now we're going to take you back to Yagura and collect the bounties on your heads!" Haku crossed her arms and shook her head, "If this was supposed to be some kind of ambush then I'm not impressed…let's kill them Zabuza." The swordsman laughed as he swung his sword around excitedly, "Time to die!" Zabuza immediately leaped at Ameyuri and swung his oversized blade at the man with incredible speed. The man swung his swords parried Zabuza's powerful swing, blocking it with his crossed blades. The steel clattered with devastating force as the two were deadlocked in a display of strength.

Zabuza pushed powerfully and started to overpower Ameyuri until the man swung one of his blades at Zabuza's stomach. The masked swordsman immediately did a backhand spring and spun his blade at the man's neck. The Kiri swordsman barely ducked in time before receiving a powerful kick in the chest sending him flying. Ameyuri landed on his feet and spun his swords rhythmically, "I see your strength hasn't diminished…let's see if you can handle my lightning!" The man immediately launched a bolt of lightning out of one of his swords at Zabuza. Before it could hit however, an ice wall blocked it. Haku had a stoic look on her face as she pulled out a short sword. Ameyuri looked annoyed and yelled, "What the hell are all of you standing around for? Kill her…but leave Zabuza to me!"

The large group of Anbu immediately rushed the ice princess. One man attempted to make a vertical slash at her, but Haku caught the blade and completely froze it along with the man's arm. He shrieked in agony as Haku smashed his frozen arm to pieces. She drew senbon needles and began launching them into the crowd of Anbu. Several made their targets and stabbed the necks of the nearby shinobi. Haku went through several hand seals and launched a cone of frost at them. Several managed to evade the attack, but a large portion were enveloped in freezing blast. Haku began to channel more chakra into the nearby ice and immediately froze over the entire area. Three Anbu simultaneously began to flourish attacks at her which she effortlessly avoided. One of the men made a swift stab but his sword was caught by an ice wall. The others went through various hand seals and launched water jutsus at her. The woman immediately froze all of the water and formed ice prisons around the Anbu. Haku rolled her eyes as the Anbu troops formed an arc pattern around her. In unison they went through multiple hand seals and fired a water prison trying to surround her. Haku smiled as she held out her sword and absorbed the water. All of a sudden, a heavy downpour of rain and thunder began to fall. The additional water was absorbed into the sword.

Haku reformed water around the blade and smirked darkly as she spread into a stance, "This is really going hurt!" The arc of Anbu spontaneously made advances at her, but were shocked as she swung her sword causing a large whip to form around it. She grinned as she whipped the water at them. As it hit them the whip immediately turned to ice and slashed two Anbu caught in its wake. Haku instantly took advantage of their surprised state and began to rapidly lash the enemy ninja. It wasn't long before the crystal white ice was pure red. Out of nowhere, a wave of reinforcements surrounded the woman again. She smiled as she looked around, "You've got to be kidding me…hehe okay guys, I can play this game all day!"

Meanwhile with Zabuza and Ameyuri, the two were violently dueling in their fierce death match. Ameyuri formed lightning around his swords and swung the blades with incredible speed trying desperately to break through Zabuza's guard. Zabuza's raw strength made it nearly impossible for the man to do so, and also allowed him to effortlessly swing his monstrous blade to block the relentless flurry of attacks. After what seemed like a never-ending whirlwind of steel, Zabuza managed to land another swift kick to the side of Ameyuri's head. The man went flying into a nearby wall. He barely managed to dodge an overhead smash from Zabuza's sword before he jumped back. The masked swordsman growled loudly as he slowly started walking towards Ameyuri. As the man backed away, Zabuza's chakra began to leak from his body. He was soon covered in a cloak. His sword was enveloped in wind chakra causing a mystical light blue glow to form around the edges. The other swordsman grimaced, "Wind Chakra? I didn't know you had that affinity!" Zabuza shook his head in amusement before he whirled his sword around causing a violent gust of wind. Ameuri laughed at him, "Is that it? Is that all you've got Zabuza? Pathetic!" The masked nin briefly placed his sword down and went through several hand seals, "Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!" (Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave)

Water erupted from Zabuza's mouth immediately flooding the entire area. Zabuza laughed as he rose from a fountain and rode a wave down towards Ameyuri. The enemy swordsman charged his swords and sent a jolt of lightning through the water at Zabuza. Before it could hit however, the wave was frozen completely solid and blocked the attack. Ameyuri roared in frustration as he looked over to Haku who used the wave to her advantage by freezing an unfortunate cluster of Anbu. More Anbu and now Kirigakure Jounin began to join the fight all furiously trying to kill the woman. Zabuza's sword was glowing harder now as he and Ameyuri stood on top of the frozen battlefield. Heavy thunder erupted violently as the two men stared each other down once again. The mist ninja was shocked as more chakra began to pour from Zabuza's body. The Demon of the Mist swung his sword and created a huge gale to surround the two men. Ameyuri did the same with his swords as he held them both skyward. Suddenly, a massive surge of lightning came from the sky and hit the twin blades. A tempest surged around the swordsman as he channeled more and more power from the thunderstorm overhead. Zabuza and Ameyuri soon found themselves enclosed in a vortex of lightning as their blades clashed once again.

Ameyuri's speed nearly doubled allowing him to relentlessly assault Zabuza. The masked swordsman was barely blocking the overwhelming barrage. The twin swords shrieked loudly every time they clashed with Zabuza's cleaver. Desperately trying to salvage the situation, Zabuza formulated a gamble in his head and did a twisting flip over the man. Before Ameyuri could stab Zabuza however, the masked nin caught one of the blades through the hole in his sword and ripped the blade from Ameyuri's grasp sending it flying. Before the man could even register what happened, Zabuza was on him again powerfully whirling his blade. Ameyuri tried to parry Zabuza's gigantic sword, but was unable to withstand the sheer force from the hit causing his remaining blade to go flying. This caused the tempest surrounding them to dissipate. Zabuza roared viciously as he channeled a huge amount of wind chakra into his sword. He raised it over his head and brought it down with tremendous force sending a violent blast arcing towards the disarmed swordsman sending him flying into a shredding gust. The aftermath of the blast left a completely annihilated cone of shredded landscape in front of Zabuza. Ameyuri coughed up blood as he tried to crawl towards his swords. His body was covered in severe cuts and bruises and he had several pieces of metal and wood sticking out from his body.

Zabuza looked over to Haku and noticed her surrounded by nothing by red ice and corpses. She looked over at him at shrugged casually, "Some people never learn…" Zabuza sighed as his chakra receded back into his body and began to walk towards the defeated Kiri Swordsman. Ameyuri managed to get a hold of his swords and made a mad dash at Zabuza. The masked nin threw his sword down and managed to grab both wrists of the frenzied swordsman barely preventing himself from getting impaled. Zabuza squeezed the man's wrists with extreme force causing several loud snaps. Ameyuri growled furiously at the pain before being kneed in the stomach. He fell to his knees in front of Zabuza and lost his grip on both of his swords. With a look of disgust, Zabuza backhanded the man to the ground and stomped on his chest causing blood to shoot out of his mouth. Haku made her way over to the scene and was giving Zabuza a questioning look, "What are you doing Zabuza?" He glared darkly at the defeated man before him and spoke callously, "This man betrayed me years ago when I turned against Yagura…he was once my friend, but now he is nothing more than the hollow shell of a man who should have died a long time ago. You won't live to see the new world, Ameyuri…your death is long overdue. Any last words before you die?"

Ameyuri began to laugh heavily between coughs as he spoke up, "You're still the idealist I see…*cough* Don't get all self-righteous on me Zabuza! People like you are monsters…*cough* your kind have no place in this world. Your hopes were nothing more than the foolish dreams of a child…desperately clinging to a pathetic, corrupted sense of honor and justice! You can try changing the world all you want…but you're never going to change yourself! You're the Demon of the Mist! Nothing more…nothing less!" Zabuza sighed deeply as picked up his sword and shook his head, "That man died five years ago in Wave Country…I follow Pein now…his will is unquestionable and his power is unmatched! He is going to destroy the Five Great Shinobi Nations and usher a new era. My only purpose in life now is to serve him." The crippled swordsman began to laugh hysterically before Zabuza stomped on his throat, "Go to hell…where you belong!" Without another word, Zabuza lifted his sword and stabbed Ameyuri through the heart. Blood began to pool around the body leaving Zabuza vacantly staring at the dead man before him. Haku put a hand on his shoulder causing him to meet her gaze, "C'mon Zabuza…I've had enough of this town…let's get one of the ships." The swordsman nodded as he equipped his sword over his back. He looked at the two swords lying nearby and picked them up, "These are the Kiba Twin Swords…they're priceless heirlooms of Kirigakure…they belong to us now. Maybe we should give them to Pein." Haku smiled as Zabuza handed her the two blades. She looked at him curiously, "What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Just hold onto them for now…" Zabuza stated as he and Haku began to walk away from the battlefield. Haku promptly sealed the two swords into a scroll. The pair walked together in silence through the remnants of the demolished town. Unsurprisingly, they spotted many villagers staring at them terrified. Most were still taking cover, praying that Zabuza and Haku wouldn't kill them. They paid the villagers no notice and walked onto the nearest ship. The crew members and workers aboard the ship instantly jumped in the water as soon as they walked onto the deck. Zabuza looked at the horizon and sighed, "Set a course for the main island's southern port…let's just see how long it takes for Yagura to come deal with us himself."

XXXXX

Up in the mountains of Lightning Country, in the village of Kumogakure, a certain Raikage was not happy. He paced back in forth in his office with a distressed look on his face, "There's been no sign of her? How could she have just disappeared?" The Raikage was glaring at a group of jounin in front of him with a dead serious look in his eyes. They nervously glanced at each other before the captain of the group spoke up, "Your daughter was last spotted leaving the village. We tried to stop her, but Yugito refused to come back with us…she said she was investigating those strange men that came here…" The Raikage cracked his knuckles as his blood pressure rose, "You let my daughter leave the village!" The jounin captain gulped in fear as the Raikage back handed him with incredible force sending the man to the wall. As the captain fell to the ground, the Raikage roared furiously, "I can't leave the village to go looking for her, so you're going to have to send a search party to find her!" The group nodded; the captain of the jounin rose to his feet again and rubbed his jaw, "Should we send word to Bee?"

The Raikage nodded at the man, "Yes…I want you to locate my brother and let him know what has happened. Tell Bee that Yugito is missing…and that I'm ordering him to look for her." The jounin nodded and left the room swiftly leaving the captain alone with the angry kage. He walked back over to the buff man and shook his head, "Raikage-sama, those men that came here…they're terrorists. Do you think we should alert the other nations?" The colossal Raikage shook his head immediately, "No…with all the troubles going on right now, the last thing I want is a bunch of foreign shinobi encroaching on our territory looking for criminals."

The captain nodded and crossed his arms, "What about Pein? What are we going to do if he is somehow involved with those men?" Before he had a chance to react, the captain found himself held against a wall by the Raikage's massive arm, "If Pein is involved, tell my brother to use ANY means necessary to eliminate him! Pein will regret ever crossing me and my village! Now Go!"

The Raikage released his grip allowing the man to breathe again. He stood up and bowed to his leader before leaving the Raikage's office.

XXXXX

Sasuke had finally arrived at Grass Country and found himself stuck at a crossroads. _'I came all the way here and I have no clue where to start looking for Orochimaru…I wonder where he is hiding?' _The raven haired man shrugged as he casually wandered down a dirt trail. His mind was constantly drifting and he barely noticed the presence of two nearby shinobi. Drawn from his thoughts Sasuke drew a kunai and looked around alertly, "I know you're there! Show yourselves!"

Following his command, two individuals jumped out of the trees and landed directly in front of him. He examined his stalkers and felt a wave of surprise wash over him as he recognized them, "Kimimaro…Tayuya, fancy meeting you here." The two sound nin shared careless glances before Tayuya spoke up, "What brings you all the way out here, Sasuke? We thought you were a Konoha prag still." Sasuke crossed his arms and smirked at the duo, "I could say the same about you two and Oto…why are you following Pein?"

"Pein is a very powerful shinobi…and is very intelligent. He offered us a deal which we couldn't refuse," Kimimaro answered. The Uchiha laughed as he glanced between them, "I have something to ask you two then…if you would indulge me." The two sound nin nodded.

"Tell me what happened to Naruto Uzumaki…Pein told me that he died three years ago, but that seems very unlikely to me." Tayuya laughed at Sasuke and ran a hand through her hair, "Naruto Uzumaki? You mean the blonde fox guy? He's dead."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow skeptically, "Yes that's what everyone keeps saying…but I've come to a different conclusion. You see…when Naruto and I battled at the Valley of the End three years ago, his eyes turned purple with multiple rings within them. That matches the description of the Rinnegan…am I right? Pein also possesses the Rinnegan…which just so happens to be the rarest bloodline in history…all of that seems like more than just a coincidence…which leads me to believe that Pein is Naruto."

Kimimaro's usual emotionless face had a smile plastered over it. He clapped his hands, "Very impressive Sasuke. Since you know the truth, I see no point in denying it any longer. Pein is in fact Naruto." Tayuya sighed as she walked over to Sasuke, "So tell us bitch…why are you in Grass Country?" The raven haired nin smirked at the red head, "I came to find Orochimaru. I knew that all of you were going to be out here and I figured that Naruto would eventually come back."

"What is your business with our leader? He has no desire to converse with anybody from Konoha," Kimimaro stated plainly. Tayuya rolled her eyes as she began to pace around Sasuke, "Yeah seriously…why the hell are you looking for him?"

"He's one of my best friends…he disappeared three years ago after he brought me back from defecting. I wanted to talk to him," Sasuke explained. Tayuya and Kimimaro traded unconvinced glances before Kimimaro queried, "What do you intend to accomplish by doing that? Did you somehow hope that by finding him you could persuade him to come back? Or is their another reason you're doing this?"

Sasuke sighed as he looked down in shame, "I just wanted to apologize to him for starters…and I wanted to find out what he's been doing these past three years. The rumors surrounding him portray him to be some kind of godly wraith that's been on a rampage." Tayuya giggled at Sasuke's answer, "Hahaha that about sums it up too…well how about we make a little deal Sasuke. You come with us back to Orochimaru and keep everything under wraps and we'll give you an audience with Naruto when he comes back."

The Uchiha looked at them confused, "You've already found Orochimaru? Why haven't you killed him yet?" Kimimaro and Tayuya both scowled at him before the white haired man answered, "We were awaiting Guren's orders…but the situation got more complicated when we discovered Anko there." Sasuke's raised an eyebrow at them, "What was Anko doing there?"

"Who knows…Guren didn't seem very pleased about it though. My guess is that she's here for the same reason you are…looking for Naruto." Tayuya answered plainly.

Sasuke wrinkled his brow at her answer, "Guren? Which one was she?"

"She's Orochimaru's second…Kabuto was Orochimaru's first, but he is dead now. That would make her his top subordinate…well in a manner of speaking," Kimimaro replied.

"I've had enough of this standing around…are you going to accept the deal or not, Sasuke? If you refuse then we'll kill you!" Tayuya exclaimed fiercely. "I accept your deal…if it gives me a chance to talk to Naruto then I'll go along with your plan for now." Kimimaro stared at Sasuke and asked, "Are you looking for Naruto so he'll help you kill your brother, Sasuke?" The Uchiha looked over at the white haired man and nodded, "That's not the only reason, but I could definitely use his help accomplish that."

"Good…follow us Sasuke, Orochimaru's base is underneath Kusagakure." Tayuya stated as she turned to leave. The Uchiha followed the two sound nin as they left at high speed.

XXXXX

Guren and Anko did not enjoy each other's company over the following days. Guren seemed content to ignore Anko as they made their way to Amegakure. Their silence left an uneasy tension and they would occasionally glance at each other wondering if the other one was going to speak. As fate would have it, Anko finally broke the silence, "So…care to explain what your problem is? You've been ignoring me this entire trip!"

Guren rolled her eyes at Anko, "I don't have time to entertain you bitch…I'm trying to come up with a plan to take Orochimaru down." The snake mistress smirked deviously at Guren and stepped in front of her halting the crystal user in her tracks. "Oooh, I love it when you talk dirty…you want to take me down too?" Guren grimaced at Anko, "I'm sorry…what? Are you eyeing me up?" Anko laughed as she ran her hand through Guren's hair, "Maybe I am…maybe I'm a bisexual nymphomaniac with a heart of gold, who doesn't play by the rules."

Guren smacked Anko's hand away and growled at her, "Don't ever touch me you psycho bitch! If you haven't realized this by now, I'm trying to salvage this situation that you so wonderfully had to fuck up!" Anko pounced on top of Guren and pinned her down, "Maybe we should kiss and make-up!" Anko lowered her lips and pressed them against Guren's. The kiss did not last long however, because Guren threw the purple haired woman off of her. Anko landed on her feet and giggled evilly at the other woman. Guren growled at her, "Get the fuck away from me you psycho!"

Anko licked her lips as Guren turned to walk away, "C'mon babe…don't be like that! I might just have to punish you if you keep this up." Guren turned around and sighed, "Seriously Anko, we don't have time for this shit…we'll play your little game later after I figure out how we're supposed to kill Orochimaru." The snake mistress pursed her lips and started to pout. She followed Guren again in silence.

After a few minutes she decided to break the ice again, "So Guren…tell me about your plan so far. How are you guys going to kill Orochimaru?" She shrugged frustrated, "I have no idea…I want to strike when he's weak…If I know anything about Orochimaru, it's that he is very powerful. Before we found you in there with him, I was going to try stabbing him with a crystal blade when he wasn't looking. I figured between me, Tayuya, and Kimimaro we might stand a chance against him. Although we weren't expecting to find you there. Now that he reactivated your cursed seal and reactivated Kimimaro's and Tayuya's, It is going to be much more difficult."

Anko shook her head, "Oh fuck…I forgot that he could control us through our seals. Well that sure put a nice big hole in your plan." Guren nodded at her, "Yes…now you see the dilemma we face. I'm the only one out of the four of us that doesn't have a curse mark. So unless we strike fast, Orochimaru will likely expose us."

"Why did those other two people leave? The swordsman and the girl?" Anko asked curiously. The crystal user shook her head casually, "They said something about going to Kirigakure…your guess is as good as mine. I kind of wish they hadn't left now." A few moments passed before Anko asked another question, "How did you guys hook up with Naruto?" Guren smiled as she looked over to Anko, "He took over Otogakure and killed me…"

"Umm…I'm not quite sure I follow. How the hell are you still alive then?" Anko asked.

"Naruto has the power to revive people with his Rinnegan…I'm not quite sure how it works, but those other two people who were following him are Zabuza and Haku. He apparently killed both of them five years ago when he was on some kind of mission. The people he revives are…linked to him somehow. I can't quite explain it, but we draw strength from him. His display of power overshadows Orochimaru's even...not only that but he is incredibly charismatic. I willingly chose to follow him because I believe in what he's trying to accomplish." Guren explained thoroughly.

"Interesting…I remember Kakashi told me a lot about those two. So did Naruto ever talk about his past to you guys?" Anko asked inquisitively. Guren shook her head, "No…I wouldn't be the person to ask that question. Zabuza and Haku are the ones who spent three years with him. Me, Tayuya, and Kimimaro have only been serving him for a few weeks."

"I've got a question for you now, Anko." Guren stated plainly. "Ooh what is it? What does my Guren-chan want to know?" The crytal user huffed in annoyance, "Spare me the flirting…I wanted to ask you what happened between Naruto and Konan." The snake mistress waved her off, "I have no clue…one moment they're both in the throne room and the next they fly out the window. Your guess is as good as mine."

Guren sighed, "You're a big help…well whatever, I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later anyways. Ame is a short distance away."

XXXXX

"Ameyuri, and his company of Anbu and Jounin are dead Yagura-sama…the northern port on the coast of Fire Country was completely demolished." an Anbu commander informed. The Mizukage was sitting at his desk with an anxious look on his face, "Have you discovered the culprits?"

"Y-Yes…they were Zabuza and Haku. They were unstoppable, Ameyuri and his men stood no chance." Yagura sighed in irritation as he stood up, "So let me guess…they took a boat and now they're on their way here to kill me?" The Anbu commander nodded, "Yes…what are your orders Yagura-sama?" Before Yagura could answer, a red headed woman entered the room with a sexy swagger, "Did I hear you right commander? Did you say that Ameyuri is dead?"

The man nodded at Mei as she sat down in one of the chairs and crossed her legs. "Meh, I never liked him anyways. Too much of a pussy in my opinion." Yagura spoke up, "Ah Mei, good to see you…yes apparently we have dangerous criminals on their way here."

Mei laughed enthusiastically, "Finally, I've been looking forward to some action. Things are way too boring around here anyways." The commander shook his head at the woman, "This isn't another one of your games…Zabuza and Haku killed over fifty men effortlessly!" Mei clutched her side laughing at the man, "You're way too serious commander…everything's a game!"

"Commander…I am going to send Mei with you to deal with those two." Yagura stated calmly. The man groaned in annoyance as he turned towards the beaming woman, "Fine…what are your orders Mei?"

Mei giggled at him and shook her head, "No no…say the whole thing."

The Anbu Commander sighed deeply as he asked again, "What are your orders Mei-sama?" She beamed proudly as she stood up, "That's more like it, I promise you'll love working for me. If you're a good boy maybe I'll make it worth your while."

He crossed his arms at her, "Don't even try that shit on me…I'm immune to your so called charms." Mei smiled as she responded playfully, "Aw don't be that way commander. I don't bite…often."

"Shut up Mei! I don't want anything to do with you…bloodlines should be purged and here the Mizukage's apprentice has not one but two!" Yagura sent a nasty glare at the man upon hearing his comment, "Are you questioning Mei, commander?" He shook his head at the angry kage and answered, "No Yagura-sama…"

Mei inched close to his face and put a hand on his cheek and smiled. A moment later her hand was around his throat and he was against a wall. She whispered darkly into his ear, "I'll kill you without a moment's hesitation if you give me any reason to doubt that…go assemble your men, we're leaving shortly." The Anbu commander left the office swiftly leaving Mei alone with Yagura. The Mizukage shook his head, "The entire village is afraid of you…you'll be a much more terrifying Mizukage than I, Mei."

The red headed woman chuckled in delight as she sat on top of Yagura's desk, "Yeah could you hurry up and retire then?" Yagura sighed at her request, "I'll name you as my successor in due time Mei…though if you ask me, I think you're a bit to eager for it." Mei pouted as she sprawled over the desk completely. "You should get going…Zabuza and Haku must be stopped at all cost. Do whatever it takes, I don't want them coming anywhere near this village."

The woman nodded as she got up, "Sure thing boss…some barbarian and a pretty little girl aren't going to stop me. By the way…is Pein with them?" Yagura looked at her perplexed, "No…why do you ask?" Mei made a sad face, "Aw Boo…I wanted to meet him."

"Why exactly would you want to meet the most dangerous criminal in the world?" Yagura asked genuinely confused. Mei licked her lips as she answered, "Dangerous men turn me on!" The Mizukage shrugged carelessly as he went back to doing his paperwork, "Don't come back until they're dead."

XXXXX

In the Valley of the End, Itachi was vacantly staring at the horizon as he sharpened his sword. The past few days had been extremely boring for the Akatsuki members. Itachi was incredibly stressed, being forced to listen in on the party banter or walk around pointlessly patrolling the valley.

"Hey Kisame…let's play hide-and-go-blow-up-a-town!" Deidara suggested enthusiastically. Kisame laughed as he stood up, "I'd be up for that…anything beats just sitting around here all damn day."

Sasori sat down next to Itachi and sighed, "Maybe those two should have been partners…Deidara is a handful sometimes." Itachi remained silent deep in thought.

"I demand you release me immediately! Do you know who I am? I am the Raikage's daugher, and he will not take this abduction lightly! You will face the wrath of Kumogakure for this atrocity!" Yugito's random screaming brought Itachi from his thoughts as he looked over at the blonde haired girl. Sasori smirked as he looked over Itachi's shoulder, "I really wish we could kill her…that woman is annoying."

Itachi nodded in agreement, "Yes, she is one of many distractions that I tire of…" The puppet master laughed and stood up, "I'll leave you be then Itachi." The Uchiha nodded his head as he turned his gaze back to the horizon. Sasori walked over to Yugito and sat right next to her. The blonde jinchuuriki was shocked by his actions and started to yell again, "Why are you smiling at me pretty boy? You think this is funny? Let me go this instant!" Sasori placed a hand on his chin as he examined her, "Yes…athletic, curvaceous, and beautiful. You would make a fine addition." Yugito squirmed as Sasori continued to stare, "Back off asshole!"

Shizune wandered back over to the chained up girl and gave Sasori a strange look, "Umm…what are you doing?" Sasori looked at Shizune innocently, "I was sizing up the girl…she would make a nice addition to my puppet collection." The brunette woman scoffed at him. Yugito started to hiss angrily, "What do you people want with Biju?" Shizune gave her a condescending look and laughed, "That's none of your concern pony-tail…now please shut up before I put you out again!"

Yugito reluctantly quieted down, "Fine…you bitch." Shizune kicked Yugito in the face before turning back to the red head. Sasori stood up and sighed, "I wonder what's taking Hidan and Kakuzu so long?" The dark haired medic nin shrugged, "Who knows. I've never met either one of them in person."

"You don't want to…Kisame calls them the Zombie Brothers." Sasori replied.

As if summoned, the two remaining members of Akatsuki walked up to the group. Kisame and Deidara were on a clay bird about to fly off before they spotted the arrival.

"It's about damn time! We thought you two went off and got married!" Deidara jested. Kisame and Sasori laughed as Hidan and Kakuzu simultaneously rolled their eyes. The duo immediately noticed Shizune and Yugito and gave Sasori a questioning look. Sasori answered before they even asked, "That's Shizune, one of Tobi's agents and the blonde girl is the Raikage's daughter…she's a jinchuuriki that Itachi and Kisame captured."

Kakuzu examined the chained up blonde, "Raikage's daughter huh? I'll bet she's worth a lot of money. I say we sell her." Hidan sighed in irritation as he glanced over at his partner, "You would think that wouldn't you…greedy son of a bitch. Did you ever stop to consider that we're capturing them for a reason?"

Kakuzu shook his head, "I seriously wish I could kill you Hidan…"

Sasori cut into the conversation, "Sorry to break up whatever that is, but do you two mind telling us what took you so long? We've been sitting around bored out of our minds for days."

"Yeah and Tobi's being really anal too…" Deidara added.

Hidan looked back at Sasori and rolled his eyes, "Yeah…sorry to hold you guys up, but Mr. Badass here decided we had to go do some stupid odd jobs." Kisame laughed at the pair, "Let me guess…you guys decided to fulfill your lifelong dream of opening an all male strip club?" Hidan groaned angrily and yelled back, "Fuck you Kisame…I hate both of you!" Kakuzu shook his head, "Stop being such a baby Hidan."

"What kind of odd jobs did you guys do?" Sasori asked. Hidan growled in frustration, "Some stupid mercenary shit, bounty hunting, and my personal favorite was an escort job that this asshole decided we just had to do!" Kisame laughed at Hidan, "So there was no stripping?" Kakuzu groaned in annoyance, "Shut up you idiots…I'm the one who is actually focused on trying to finance this fucking organization…meanwhile Hidan decides to be of no use by doing nothing but complaining and praying."

"Glad to see you two have returned…Tobi should be on his way momentarily and we can start this meeting." Itachi said calmly as he approached the group. Zetsu suddenly appeared out of the ground and confirmed it, "He is on his way as we speak…when I saw you two approaching I notified him immediately."

Hidan huffed carelessly at the man and walked past him over towards Yugito, "So what about the girl? What are we going to do with her?" Hidan examined her closer and smirked at her as she began to growl.

"Her presence is of no importance…Shizune please incapacitate the girl if you would." Madara stated as he arrived to the circle of Akatsuki members. The brunette nodded as she approached Yugito and pulled out a needle, "Nighty night, princess." Yugito attempted to spit on Shizune as the needle was injected into her neck. Moments later the girl fell over unconscious. Madara looked around at the almost fully assembled group of Akatsuki and sighed.

"Now that you're all here…we have many things to discuss. First thing's first…I want all of the identities of the jinchuuriki. Sasori and Deidara shall go first." The group nodded and all focused their attention towards the two partners. Sasori calmly began, "We identified that the one tailed beast's container is the Kazekage…Gaara. He is a very impressive shinobi…It almost shames me that we'll have to capture him."

Deidara nodded at his partner's assessment, "Yes he won't be easy pickings…that's for sure. Although I do look forward towards the encounter."

"Kisame and I located the two tail's and the eight tail's hosts. Both are directly related to the current Raikage. The girl we have captured over there is the container for the two tails. She is the Raikage's daughter. The eight tails was much more difficult for us to track however." Itachi explained.

"The eight tail's host is very powerful. The people of Kumo call him Killer Bee, but he is the Raikage's brother." Kisame added. Itachi nodded at his partner and continued, "He possesses full control over his Biju. His power is very impressive, but Kisame and I have studied him for some time and believe that Samehada would be instrumental in bringing him down." Kisame nodded in agreement, "I am eager to face him…he is a worthy enemy."

Madara paced anxiously, "Interesting…Hidan, Kakuzu, what did you two discover during your travels?" Hidan looked at his partner in irritation before looking back over to Madara, "Well when we weren't pillaging towns and playing mercenary…we actually did manage to identify that there are two jinchuuriki in Iwa." Kakuzu sighed in annoyance as he glared at Hidan, "Both the four and five tailed beasts' containers are there. The four tail's host was an old man with red hair named Roshi…he was somewhat impressive, but kept to himself mostly. The five tail's host was named Han…the only word that can describe him is giant." Tobi chuckled in amusement and cocked his head, "Do you care to elaborate?" Hidan decided to answer, "Yes, Han was a incredibly tall and wore some kind of armor. We didn't really see that much of him though because Mr. Man Whore over there decided we had to go waste our time working for some crime lords…"

Kakuza crossed his arms at Hidan, "You're so naïve Hidan…am I the only one who cares about our expenses?" Madara laughed at his comment and pat Kakuzu on the shoulder, "While I do admire your foresight, Kakuzu…money is irrelevant to this organization. There isn't a thing in this world that we can't just walk right up to and take."

Kakuzu scoffed at Madara and shook his head, "Yeah maybe except for Pein…I don't plan on living in caves and camping for the rest of my life…I am going to buy myself a nice mansion and none of you assholes are going to be invited." Hidan began to laugh at his partner and looked around the group, "See what I've got to put up with now? This mother fucker thinks he's going to retire or something!"

"Enough with the foolishness…" Madara uttered darkly as he began to pace again, "I managed to acquire significant information surrounding the two jinchuuriki in Kiri. The host of the three tailed beast is the Mizukage himself. His name is Yagura. Due to Pein's heavy presence across the borders of Water Country, Yagura has nearly tripled his armed forces and has turned his village into a complete fortress. However, I have implemented a certain degree of influence over him. He sub-consciously feeds me information and I have managed to establish several connections over in village. The other jinchuuriki was much more difficult to track because he is a missing nin from the village. His name is Utakata, and he is the container for the six tails. His current whereabouts are unknown to me since he is constantly moving."

Itachi looked at Madara for a moment and sighed, "You have no idea where this Utakata is?" The older Uchiha looked at Itachi and nodded his head, "I have an idea where he is…but that's not really important at the moment." Kisame cocked his head and asked, "What about the seven tails? Did anybody manage to locate it?"

Madara shook his head in disappointment, "Unfortunately, I don't think it was located. I did task Konan to go search Taki for it, but she blew it off when she was playing Empress over in Ame."

"Yeah where is Konan by the way?" Hidan asked as he looked around at the group. "She's dead…went out with a bang!" Deidara exclaimed with a twinkle in his eye.

Zetsu shook his head and stated plainly, "Konan is alive, she is currently with Pein on her way here."

Everyone with the exception of Itachi and Madara looked surprised and shocked. Sasori chuckled at the news, "Well…that girl is full of surprises. Although, I'm curious as to why she is bringing Pein here." Kisame looked excited at the news and almost cheered in joy, "Hell yeah! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad she's not dead." Kakuzu looked confused and shook his head, "Did I miss something? What are you guys talking about?"

Shizune answered, "I'm surprised you two didn't hear about the battle at Amegakure seeing as how you just left Iwa…but we all assumed that Konan killed herself to stop Pein, but apparently they're both alive." Hidan crossed his arms and laughed, "I get the feeling you're not telling us something Tobi."

Madara nodded his head and decided to answer, "I assigned Konan to bring Pein here…he is the most powerful jinchuuriki and I wanted to deal with him immediately. I am certain that the group of you can easily apprehend him…although there's no telling what Konan has told him."

"How do you plan on extracting Biju from these jinchuuriki Tobi." Sasori demanded calmly. The others all looked at him confused and back to Madara awaiting an answer. Madara sighed in annoyance as he looked over the curious faces of his subordinates, "To extract them, I am going to use the Rinnegan…that is why I wanted Pein to come here…"

"So how did you plan on doing this before we discovered he was a Rinnegan wielder?" Itachi asked. The older Uchiha glared at Itachi through his mask and sighed, "My plan has been altered several times, but the ultimate goal remains the same…world domination. There is more than one way to extract a Biju…Pein just happens to possess one of simplest methods." Kisame shook his head after hearing Madara's answer, "How do you plan on getting Pein to do that?"

The others looked confused and Itachi rolled his eyes. Zetsu decided to explain, "Pein has the same goals that we do…he also possesses incredible power and influence. The logical choice would be to offer him a place in Akatsuki."  There were mixed feelings towards Zetsu's analysis. Hidan looked pissed, "You can't be fucking serious…"

"Yeah I agree with him for once…that hardly seems smart." Kakuzu agreed. Kisame face palmed and just laughed, "I highly doubt that he would take orders from you Tobi…" Itachi nodded in agreement, "Yes I've been saying that all along."

Sasori shook his head in disappointment at the others, "You're all looking at it the wrong way…Pein would be a valuable asset to Akatsuki, although seeing as how he is a jinchuuriki I doubt that he would agree with your plan Tobi." Madara nodded at the red haired puppet master, "Your insight is accurate Sasori…however I see no need to extract the Kyuubi from Pein if we can willingly convince him to work with us."

"I like your plan, Tobi!" Deidara stated as he proudly wrapped an arm around Madara's shoulder, "I hear Pein is quite the artist!" Madara looked at the blonde haired man and sighed deeply, "Deidara…why are you touching me?" Madara peeled off the man's arm pushed him back as he looked over the group again.

"I don't agree with this plan…how do you plan on controlling somebody like Pein?" Itachi asked emotionlessly. Deidara rolled his eye and looked over at the Uchiha, "You would think that wouldn't you? It figures you disagree with everything I agree with…I hate you Itachi." The Uchiha didn't even bother responding to Deidara as he continued to stare at Madara. "We're proceeding with the plan whether you like it or not…if Pein refuses then I will forcefully extract Kyuubi!"

Shizune who had remained relatively quiet during the meeting cut in, "Tobi…what do you plan on doing with the girl then?" she pointed to the unconscious blonde lying against the nearby wall chained up. Madara crossed his arms and smiled beneath his mask, "She is bait…we shall use her to lure the eight tails here once we deal with Pein. I want to capture them in a specific order. After we deal with Pein, Killer Bee is our next target. Then we shall apprehend the Mizukage and the Kazekage simultaneously if possible. Those are all high priority targets…the rest of the jinchuuriki should be relatively simple to obtain by that point."

The group nodded at Madara's assessment as he finished, "This meeting is adjourned, I suggest you all keep an eye out for Pein and Konan's arrival…in the mean time I'll be by the waterfall." Without another word Madara left the group. Hidan lied down and put his hands behind his head, "Whatever…I'm getting some sleep."

The others all dispersed into their various groups after their leader left. Kisame and Deidara traded quick glances before the blonde haired man asked, "So Kisame…wanna go blow shit up?" The swordsman laughed at him and shrugged, "Yeah…I've had enough with these damn stiffs over here."

"How romantic…you two want some alone time," Sasori joked as he began to make adjustments to Hiruko. Deidara waved him off and responded, "Kisame appreciates true art! We're going to go blow up a town and watch the people die."

Itachi sighed as he looked at duo, "You two aren't allowed to go anywhere…we're waiting for Pein to arrive." Deidara flipped Itachi off as the clay bird started to fly away. Sasori shook in head in amusement as Kisame and Deidara flew away, "Maybe we should let them be partners next time eh Itachi?" The Uchiha looked over and replied, "Kisame's abilities are very complimentary to my own, but I imagine yours would be as well. Not a bad idea."

Itachi stood up and started to walk away, "I'm going to patrol the perimeter…you should go run that idea by Tobi whenever you get a free moment, Sasori."

XXXXX

Naruto, Konan, and Fu had made considerable progress towards their destination. They were closing in on the Valley of the End much to Konan's displeasure. She had remained silent the entire trip which left Naruto slightly confused. Although he didn't give it much thought due to his constant conversations with Fu regarding numerous topics. Most were about his past, but Fu seemed hard pressed to find out about Naruto's goal in life. "So what made you want to start all this, Naruto?" she asked curiously as she hugged his arm.

"**Yeah I wonder who made you realize that you were being a complete dumbass by working for Konoha…do you know anybody who matches that description?" **Kyuubi mocked. He looked over at Fu and sighed, "Well believe it or not my Biju, Kyuubi, actually convinced me to do it…" Konan was brought from her thoughts and looked at Naruto shocked, "What? How does that work? Your Biju talks to you?"

Fu looked over at her and raised a brow, "That's none of your concern flower girl." Konan glared at her as Naruto continued, "Before I left Konoha…I was essentially the laughing stock of the village. Nobody took me seriously and even my closest friends turned their backs on me. Kyuubi made me understand the ugly truth…that I was never going to be the Hokage, and that those who are too weak to change their lot in life deserve to suffer. I was not going to be a pawn for that fucking village anymore. I decided to leave and to improve myself…to become strong, so that I would one day have the strength the overthrow Konoha."

Fu looked sympathetic and replied, "I understand what it's like…everybody hates and fears jinchuuriki."

"You sound a lot like Tobi, Naruto…he'll probably enjoy meeting you." Konan stated causing Naruto to turn around. "What makes you say that Konan?" he asked. She shrugged as she replied, "You just seem to share a lot of his goals…he hates Konoha as well." Naruto raised a brow at her, "Interesting…let's hurry up then, I'm anxious to meet him." Naruto took off at high speed followed by the women. **"She seems like she's buttering you up for something…keep your guard up." **Kyuubi commented in Naruto's mind. '_Yeah, Konan's been acting strange…I've got the feeling that she knows a lot more about this Tobi guy than she is letting on.' _

"**Hmm…maybe bringing the jinchuuriki girl was a good idea after all."**

XXXXX

There you go…chapter 10! Well the update wasn't really as fast as I promised, but whatever.

**Personal notes:**

I hope that battle with Zabuza and Haku was up to standard…if you disagree then fuck you. LOL…err I mean then I apologize for my poor writing skills. For those of you who don't know, Ameyuri is one of the former seven swordsmen of the mist…go look him up on the wiki if you want more info.

Akatsuki has a lot of party banter going on…for those of you who complained about it "ruining the tone" or some other nonsense like that, I just want to tell you to get over it…If I want to make cheap jokes with Akatsuki members then damn it I will. If that is going to "ruin my story" then I encourage you to quit reading. Lol but for those that actually have a sense of humor, I am sending you a virtual high five.

I'll give a gold star to whoever knows what a "prag" is lol.

I know I had a lot going on in this chapter, but I hope you guys didn't mind too much. Anyways like I stated above, It may take another week or so for the next chapter because Dragon Age 2 comes out soon…and I will be very very busy playing it. If you have any questions, or comments then feel free to send me a message.


	11. Chapter 11

Well sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter…that was my poor attempt at trying to build suspense. Though I won't keep teasing you guys…this is a juicy chapter. It is also the longest damn chapter I have ever written…I don't plan on writing another one this big. TONS of stuff going on in this chapter…and finally the long awaited confrontations that you've all been craving.

I am proud of those of you who identified what a prag was. Well anyways enough of my boring acknowledgements and on with the story!

**Chapter 11: Betrayal**

Kimimaro, Tayuya, and Sasuke finally arrived at the inn which led to Orochimaru's base. Sasuke looked around as they entered the building and commented, "This village seems deserted…I'm surprised that there weren't even guards around the entrances." Kimimaro looked back at the Uchiha and nodded his head, "That doesn't seem very odd to me…this village was conquered by Amegakure about a year ago, and has been a safe haven for criminals ever since. It doesn't surprise me at all that Orochimaru would have a base here."

"Yeah Kusagakure has always had a lenient policy regarding travelers. This place is known for harboring a lot of missing nin, bounty hunters, and like Kimimaro said, criminals as well." Tayuya added. Sasuke shook his head as they walked down into the basement, "That part I get…but where are all of the people? It seems so strange that almost none of the civilians are out and about."

"You're from a large shinobi village…the largest actually, Sasuke. I can understand that you might not be accustomed to the way the smaller nations live, but the civilians in this village seem to know when and where to avoid trouble. My guess is that they know we're Orochimaru's minions." Kimimaro elaborated. Tayuya shrugged as she looked over at Sasuke, "That hardly seems relevant anyways…what I want to know is what do you plan on telling Orochimaru when you see him, Sasuke?"

The raven haired man scratched his head, "Hmm, I guess I'll tell him the same thing I did the first time I tried to go to him…that I want him to train me to kill my brother." Kimimaro sighed as he looked at the Uchiha, "You do realize that Orochimaru will be in need of another body very soon?" Sasuke smirked at Kimimaro and nodded, "I'm counting on it…that may be a good time for you two to strike."

Tayuya looked at Kimimaro and laughed, "Well if he's willing to be bait I'd be down for that." The white haired man shrugged, "We aren't going to do anything without Guren…" Suddenly, Kimimaro began to cough heavily and fell to his knees. Sasuke and Tayuya ran over and knelt beside him as he puked blood. "I keep forgetting that you're still sick Kimimaro," Tayuya said calmly as she placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked over and sighed, "I'm fine…I just need a moment."

Sasuke shook his head at the man with an unconvinced look, "How did you manage to survive this long anyways? I heard that you were defeated by Gaara and Lee. They said you were dead." Kimimaro stood up with a fierce look on his face and shook his head, "They were worthy opponents, but wouldn't have stood a chance if I was at my prime. They believed me dead after I collapsed during the battle. I suppose I might have been, but Kabuto and Orochimaru saved Tayuya and myself after we failed to retrieve you."

Tayuya nodded her head as she elaborated, "He was pretty pissed about it too…we got to hear this long winded speech about he only saved us so that his investments in training us wouldn't have been a waste. We were both reassigned to guard Otogakure under Guren's command after Kabuto healed us." Sasuke cocked his head with a confused look on his face, "It seems kind of strange to imagine you guys betraying Orochimaru. I mean why are you two more loyal to Naruto over him?"

Kimimaro wiped blood off his mouth and sighed, "They are both the same…the only difference is that Naruto is more powerful and isn't as questionable in his methods." Sasuke gave a questioning look as he crossed his arms, "How exactly are they the same?"

Kimimaro ran a hand through his snowy white hair and closed his eyes, "They both want the same thing…world domination and supreme authority. The only difference between them is that Naruto is doing it so that he can make the world a better place, while Orochimaru seeks to dominate the world and become some kind of god. If you think about it, those two ideals aren't very different…they are just perceived differently through perspective and experience. From our perspective, Naruto is the voice of change and the defining leader we need for a shinobi revolution…although if you consider Konoha's perspective, he is a power-hungry terrorist. So to answer your question, Sasuke, they are both exactly the same."

Tayuya laughed as she pushed Kimimaro, "Okay okay, enough with the deep philosophical shit. I'll put it simply for you Sasuke…Naruto is more powerful that Orochimaru. Does that satisfy your curiosity?" The Uchiha nodded, "I understand…power is the supreme authority from which all other authority is derived. My brother told me that once." Kimimaro nodded his head at Sasuke, "Itachi speaks true…I imagine that is why he serves Akatsuki." Sasuke's eyes shot open in shock, "Akatsuki? They were those terrorists that came to Konoha for Naruto over three years ago. What do you know about them?"

The white haired man sighed, "I don't know much beyond the identities of several members. However, Orochimaru used to be a member of it…ask him if you are that curious." The raven haired man sighed and nodded his head, "Hopefully he'll tell me."

"You know Konan is a member of Akatsuki as well…so I don't imagine that Naruto is on good terms with them," Kimimaro said as he looked over to Sasuke. The Uchiha raised a brow, "Really now? Well if that's any indication to how powerful Akatsuki is, then I imagine they are a force to be reckoned with." Tayuya laughed and shook her head, "I wonder what they think about 'Pein?' He seems more than powerful enough to join their ranks…I wonder if they ever thought about recruiting him?"

"That seems unlikely…Naruto is an enemy of Itachi and Kisame after they battled in Wave Country. Zabuza told me about their run in with those two about three years ago. He said that Itachi and Kisame were trying to capture Naruto because he is a jinchuuriki." Kimimaro clarified. "Good! That gives Naruto even more of a reason to want to help me kill Itachi," Sasuke said.

The trio continued together in silence down the long dark passageway to Orochimaru's Lair. After a couple of minutes, they finally reached their destination. Upon entering, the spine-chilling voice of Orochimaru sounded, "Ah, Sasuke-kun, It's a pleasure to see you again! What brings you all the way to my hidden base hmm?"

"I've come to seek your guidance and training so that I can kill my brother," Sasuke answered nonchalantly. The snake sannin was seated in a large chair looking over a map. He placed the piece of paper down and stood up beaming proudly, "Well that would be a good reason for coming here…but I wonder, Why come now, Sasuke?" The Uchiha had a completely emotionless face as Orochimaru started to circle him. "The opportunity never presented itself…I am here now so what does it matter?" he stated plainly.

Orochimaru crossed his arms and looked amused, "The opportunity never presented itself huh? You're telling me that it took you three years to slip out of Konoha?" Sasuke glared at the pale sannin fiercely and shook his head, "I don't have to explain myself to you. Will you teach me or not?" Orochimaru laughed at Sasuke, "You still possess quite the attitude I see…Very well Sasuke-kun, I will accept you back. Now if you would, activate your cursed seal."

Sasuke was taken aback by the request, "What? Why?" The pale man smiled venomously as he placed a hand on Sasuke, "Let's just say, I want proof of your loyalty this time…" Suddenly the cursed seal on Sasuke flared and the black markings began to spread across his body causing him to groan in pain. Orochimaru giggled in delight as he looked at his minions, "You two come initiate Sasuke with me…" Tayuya and Kimimaro traded skeptical glances before they activated their cursed seals. They both placed their hands on opposite ends of the Uchiha. The trio began to glow an ominous dark purple causing intense pain. Tayuya and Kimimaro remained silent since they were quite used to the initiation ceremonies. Sasuke felt his senses become overwhelmed briefly as he shouted in pain. After a minute or so Orochimaru clapped his hands in joy, "Enough, that will suffice you two."

Tayuya and Kimimaro released their hold on Sasuke and reverted back to their normal selves. Sasuke continued to glow however much to his disapproval. Orochimaru went through several hand seals and suddenly Sasuke found the chakra amplified causing another wave of agony to wash over him. Orochimaru literally seemed to be getting off on Sasuke's pain as he laughed devilishly, "I apologize for this Sasuke, but this is necessary in order to ensure your obedience!" Kimimaro and Tayuya remained silent but traded distasteful looks at each other. After a few minutes, the white haired man decided to speak, "Umm, Orochimaru-sama…is this really necessary?" The snake sannin turned to face him with a surprised look on his face, "Why would you ask me something like that? Of course it is necessary! Everything I do is necessary to ensure my survival and my dominance!"

Kimimaro nodded his head and didn't bother responding. Orochimaru continued his torture on Sasuke, "Now Sasuke, there are a few things that I want to ask you if you don't mind answering." Sasuke was groaning in pain and barely voiced a response, "What!"

"I'm going to ask you this again…why did you wait three years to come here? I could have been training you this entire time!" Orochimaru demanded darkly. Sasuke growled at him and replied, "Naruto brought me back to Konoha and the Anbu were assigned to watch me night and day for over a year! Konoha has been in turmoil since the Battle of Amegakure and I slipped out of the west gate several days ago!" Orochimaru cocked his head interested, "Naruto? OH I remember now…he was the Kyuubi kid. Why didn't he stop you this time Sasuke?"

"He's not in Konoha…he's been missing for several years." Sasuke answered much to Tayuya's disappointment. "Missing huh? I wonder if Akatsuki decided to capture him…interesting. Now answer me this Sasuke…were you at the Battle of Amegakure? Tell me what happened!" Orochimaru ordered anxiously. The purple chakra continued to flare painfully across Sasuke's body, but he had finally built a bit of a tolerance for it and stood up, "Tell you what? What exactly do you want to know?"

Orochimaru walked behind Sasuke and wrapped both hands around his neck sticking his tongue out next to Sasuke's ear. "I want to know what happened to Pein and Konan…from your perspective," he whispered enthusiastically. Sasuke felt a chill run down his neck as Orochimaru continued to breathe on him, "I don't know what happened…Pein showed up and protected us from Konan and then the next thing I know they both fly out a window and end up fighting outside of the village. We managed to escape while that was taking place."

The snake sannin backed off and sighed releasing the cloak around Sasuke. The raven haired man fell to his knees in relief as the pain subsided. Orochimaru paced around for a minute as he randomly stared in different directions. Finally after an awkward silence Sasuke stood up and broke it, "Well?" Orochimaru looked at him and sighed, "Well I suppose Guren and Anko might turn up better information." Sasuke nodded his head at the pale man before Orochimaru burst into a wide grin, "You don't seem to find Anko's presence here to be very unsettling Sasuke…have Kimimaro and Tayuya told you then?" The Uchiha was at a loss of words before turning his focus to the two sound nin standing a short distance away. They both traded concerned glances at each other before Kimimaro spoke up, "Yes, we told him that Anko was here."

Orochimaru looked at the pair and placed a hand on his chin as he looked between them, "Now why would you go and do that? You two have been acting rather strange…which reminds me! Tell me why Guren brought you here?" Tayuya decided to answer much to Orochimaru's surprise, "Guren wanted to discuss important matters since Kabuto is now dead. After she learned of his death she wanted to reconvene with you and discuss what to do regarding Pein and several other threats that have been brewing." Orochimaru nodded his head satisfied, "Well that does seem like something she would do…I suppose she brought you two for her own protection Haha!" He shook his head in amusement as he stared at Kimimaro, "She plans on killing me doesn't she? Guren brought you two here in the hopes that you would help her kill me." Kimimaro nodded his head and took a step forward, "Guren has allied herself with Pein…she believed that we were foolish enough to follow. Tayuya and I merely sought to feed her a false sense of security to further boost her assurance so that she may be easily slain."

Tayuya was shocked as she looked at Kimimaro but kept a straight face, _'Fucking traitor! What the hell are you doing Kim?_' Sasuke was standing behind the snake sannin with a confused look on his face, '_What the fuck? Did he just sell us all out?_' Orochimaru's eyes grew wide and he began to cackle manically, "Yes…now it all makes sense. She was foolish to trust you two with her dirty little secret. When she returns I shall deal with her accordingly. In the mean time, tell me what you know about Pein."

Kimimaro continued, "Pein possesses the Rinnegan…he is the descendant of the Rikudo Sennin." Orochimaru's eyes shot open and a wicked grin plastered his face, "HAHAHAHAHA! The Rinnegan? Yes, Pein will be my next body and I will be Invincible!" After his evil laugh, the snake sannin examined Tayuya closely and asked, "Well now, Tayuya, you have always been very loyal to me…I am curious to know of your involvement with Guren's scheme. Why didn't you answer me honestly hmm?"

She remained stoic and shrugged, "I was watching out for my own neck…I followed her out of sheer necessity to remain alive. I had no intention of betraying you but I saw no reason to tell you until the moment presented itself." The pale sannin placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded, "Very well…it is good to see that you still remember my teachings. You simply decided to play both sides…very interesting." He turned his focus towards the Uchiha and continued, "Well now Sasuke, I find myself in an interesting position regarding you. I won't be needing your body…Pein's will be far more powerful, but you came all this way so I guess it's only fair that I let you stay."

Sasuke smirked at the snake man, "I'm honored by your generosity Lord Orochimaru." The sannin gave Sasuke a dark look and laughed, "You will be very useful to me one way or another."

XXXXX

Mei and the Anbu Commander had left Kirigakure in a blur. The bulk of the Anbu forces were very reluctant about following Mei's orders, but didn't say anything seeing as how she forced their own Commander to literally suck up to her. The Commander sighed as he closely followed the red head along with a small army of Anbu. Mei turned to look over at the masked man and raised a brow, "Something wrong Commander?" He turned his head and sighed again, "I can't help but think that this is a suicide mission. Zabuza and Haku are both Pein's enforcers…they've been with him for years…I can't help but feel slightly nervous about the whole situation."

Mei laughed at him and shook her head, "I thought Anbu Commanders didn't get scared…it's okay honey I'll protect you." He growled in irritation at her playfulness, "I'm not scared! I am just concerned about this situation…Yagura is sending us on a damn suicide mission. Ameyuri had a personal army of his own and was mutilated by those two…and now the only help he sends me with to defeat two of the most dangerous criminals this nation has ever known is some snide, self-absorbed bitch who doesn't deserve to be the Mizukage's apprentice!"

Mei faked a hurt expression, "Are you jealous of me baby? Oh how could you say such a thing? I can understand where you're coming from Commander." The Anbu officer huffed in disbelief, "I doubt it…you don't know shit you psycho." The red head smirked at him and began to laugh, "I get it…you secretly have a huge crush on me and can't quite find the words to ask me if I would give you big wet kiss before you die. Am I right?"

The Commander was shocked by her words and replied quickly, "What? Hell NO! I have no interest in you Mei…get that through your thick skull!" She shook her head at him and laughed, "What are you gay? I am offering to give you one last kiss and you turn it down?" He scoffed at her, "Hate to break it to you sweetheart but nobody wants to make out with a fucking freak show like you…that would only encourage you to replicate your bloodline!"

Mei winked at the man and laughed, "It's okay to admit you think about me when you touch yourself at night…maybe I could make some of those fantasies come true Raiga…my warm wet lips around your.."

"ENOUGH! Stop fucking with me Mei!" he yelled at her causing her to laugh at his distress. His men remained silent much to Mei's disappointment. "So you don't like when women fuck you is what you're saying? I always knew you were gay, Raiga…It's good we talked about this." Raiga didn't say another word as the two continued. Mei was certain she had ruined his day and inwardly laughed, '_Fuck you asshole…you're just jealous that I'm way more powerful than you._. Her mind continued to wander at the thought of Zabuza and Haku, '_I'm finally going to get my revenge…this has been a long time coming!'_

XXXXX

"Zabuza, do you really think it's a good idea to just dock at the southern port like this?" Haku asked as the two missing nin pulled into port with their commandeered ship. Zabuza shrugged carelessly as he swung his sword around, "Eh, who cares…we're supposed to be drawing attention to ourselves anyways. I say we just take a tour of the town and scare a few people and eventually some hot shot will show up and give an overbearing speech about how he's going to defeat us to prove his worth or some bullshit along those lines."

"You don't seem very concerned about this at all…" Haku began. The masked swordsman waved her off and laughed, "We just took out a damn army back there, you and me might as well just march straight to Kirigakure at the rate we're going." Haku ran a hand through her hair and sighed, "I don't think that's a good idea…you're acting kind of irrational Zabuza."

"Yeah sorry…I'm still a bit pumped up after that last encounter. I'm just finally ready to face Yagura again." he replied anxiously. Haku nodded as the ship finally docked, "We'll see this through …don't lose focus of the plan. Like you said, we still need to take down Yagura's generals before we can move on him personally. By the way, who are his generals, Zabuza?"

The swordsman thought for a moment and answered, "Well Ameyuri was one of them I think…not sure who else…but if I am not mistaken, Mei Terumi is definitely one of them; she is also Yagura's apprentice. She was a barely a teenager when I left Kiri…but possessed two powerful bloodlines. Yagura seemed to consider her the only exception to his hatred against bloodlines…not really sure why though." Haku shook her head in disgust, "Why would a man who hates bloodlines to the point where he persecutes people with them name one as his apprentice and future successor?"

Zabuza shrugged, "I honestly have no idea…maybe Yagura felt sorry for her. At any rate, she's been blinded by Yagura's propaganda for years, so I wouldn't expect any kind of sincerity from her. She also really hates me."

"How well did you know her?" Haku asked. Zabuza sighed and stood up, "That's a story for another time, Haku…let's go." Zabuza and Haku made their way down the ramp off their ship and met the faces of several civilians. They immediately cowered in fear as the two missing nin walked by them without a glance. Mass panic was sweeping though the crowd at the harbor. Every civilian and shinobi present in the area was backing away in fear as the two notorious criminals emotionlessly strolled through.

The occasionally doomsayer would shout random things like, "OH NO THEY'RE HERE!" or "We're all going to die!" After a while, the two stopped in the middle of the town and looked around. "Who will Yagura send this time?" Zabuza demanded as he drew his sword causing the crowd to scream and distance itself further from the two. Immediately answering Zabuza's question, Mei and Commander Raiga both landed in front of them causing the mass panic to turn into full blown chaos. A complete Anbu unit surrounded Zabuza and Haku suddenly and Mei began to laugh, "Well well well…It's been far too long Zabuza…you've seriously got some nerve marching to the village like you own the place!"

"Mei? I'm surprised Yagura lets you leave his office…he wouldn't want his little princess to get hurt." Zabuza chuckled. Mei smirked as she replied in an venomous tone, "I don't know why you're trying to kill Yagura…he's done nothing but good things for you. But I'm glad you're finally giving me the chance to kill you myself!" Haku raised an eyebrow and looked over at Zabuza, "So she's Mei huh?"

The red head answered proudly, "That's right sugar queen, I am the baddest bitch to ever come out of these parts." Haku laughed and shook her head, "No, that that would be me…" Zabuza glared at Mei and crossed his arms, "You still don't know what's going on? Then I guess that means that Yagura hasn't told you the truth yet…he needs to die for everything he's done!" Mei's cocky smile began to dissipate and she began to growl fiercely, "Are you kidding me? Yagura saved me from you when you killed my family!"

"You're so naïve…you're the same little girl you were the day I left. Yagura is your true enemy," Zabuza replied coolly. Mei glared angrily at the swordsman and got into a fighting stance, "How can you say that? You fucking murderer! You won't kill the last person I have left! You're the one that should be dead for killing my clan!" Haku burst out laughing at the woman causing her anger to only worsen, "What's so funny bitch? You're going to die too!"

Haku shook her head with a smirk, "You really aren't that bright are you? It figures…you look like you should be in some back alley giving blowjobs for money, and here you come threatening us after we just skull fucked Ameyuri's unit." Raiga laughed at Haku's comment and shook his head, "I can't believe that you and I agree on something."

Mei turned towards the Commander with a terrifying look on her face, "This is no laughing matter, Raiga…I won't hesitate to kill you either!" He immediately stopped laughing and turned his focus back towards the two criminals.

After a few seconds of silence Raiga began to speak, "We have you two surrounded, if you surrender peacefully then perhaps the Mizukage will grant you a merciful death…or maybe even a chance to redeem yourselves." Zabuza growled at the man, "I don't take orders from school girl pencil pushers like you. Raiga the little bitch! They actually promoted you to Anbu Commander? HAHA! We're not going anywhere…but thanks for saving us the trouble of tracking you down."

"Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu!" (Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique). Mei launched Lava from her mouth that completely blanketed the area surrounding Zabuza and Haku. Before it hit, a huge wall of ice completely absorbed it. The ice melted into water and created a large puddle around the duo. Mei looked irritated as she glanced at Haku, "I thought that the Yuki Clan was extinct…I can easily correct that issue."

Haku looked over to Zabuza and smiled, "Let me handle her Zabuza…this shit just got personal!" He nodded his head as he swung his sword around began to channel wind chakra around the blade. Zabuza then smashed the sword into the ground causing a huge wave of chakra to blast the surrounding Anbu back. He went through several hand seals, "Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!" (Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave)

A massive amount of water poured out of Zabuza's mouth as he picked up his sword. He an Haku rose up on the fountains of water and traded each other amused glances. "Now you'll see why we are two of the most dangerous missing nin in the world!" Zabuza shouted. Water continued to flood the surrounding area causing Mei and many of the enemy shinobi to stand on rooftops. The unfortunate civilians were floating away on driftwood. "Wow you made a bunch of water…I am so impressed!" She laughed as she went through several hand seals, "Let's see how you handle this!" Mei shot lava out of her mouth into the water causing a massive amount of steam to shroud the area. Raiga yelled to his men, "Kill them now!"

The army of Anbu leaped endlessly upon the two missing nin with their swords drawn. Zabuza easily cleaved through waves of them as he jumped across the rooftops. He made his way towards Mei but was blocked by Raiga, "I am going to be the one to kill you, Demon of the Mist!"

Raiga laughed suddenly as he pulled out a scroll. Zabuza watched curiously as Raiga summoned a large double bladed sword from the scroll. The opposite blades hooked away from each other giving the weapon a very unique appearance. Raiga began to flourish the blade around and slammed it down causing both ends to glow blue before they were enveloped in fire.

Raiga pulled off his mask and threw it to the ground and smirked at Zabuza, "You may be strong Zabuza…but you overestimate yourself. This is Aurorafang, the legendary fire sword!" Zabuza looked shocked as he gazed at the fiery sword, "That thing is a myth…"

Raiga laughed as he swung the blade rhythmically causing a huge pillar of fire to launch at Zabuza. The swordsman barely managed to dodge it in time as the flame violently spread over the surrounding rooftops. Zabuza landed on the water and shook his head, "All right asshole…if that's how you want to play!" Zabuza pierced his blade into the water and began to absorb massive amounts of it. After a few moments, the blade was surrounded by a whirling aura of water over the glowing edges.

The masked swordsman launched a cyclone out of his sword towards Raiga and Mei causing the two to jump off of their current rooftop and onto the water. The cyclone demolished the building and a large group of unfortunate Anbu. Haku went through several hand seals and completely froze over the flooded area capturing Mei and Raiga's feet before Zabuza leaped at them. He swung his blade powerfully only to be parried by Raiga's sword. Raiga slammed the blade down into the water again and melted the ice surrounding himself as he and Zabuza began to duel. Meanwhile, Mei was repeatedly launching lava waves at Haku. The Anbu troops stood back fearfully as the two groups battled.

The ice princess barely blocked the volcanic rain of lava as she relentlessly created ice shields and refroze the melting water. Mei ceased her fire momentarily and began to laugh, "You're not as strong as they said you were…hahaha you can't handle me sugar doll." Haku scowled angrily at the smiling woman and shook her head, "If you don't wipe that smug look off your face I'm going to rip it off!"

Mei smiled and launched another assault of lava at Haku. Before it hit, Haku jumped into the air and froze the wave of magma sliding down towards Mei with her sword drawn. Mei pulled out a curved kunai and managed to deadlock the blade before it slashed into her face. The two women tried to overpower one another staring fiercely into each other's eyes. Haku smirked and spoke up, "I think I know why you smile all the time now…you've had so many cocks shoved in your mouth that your face got stuck that way." Mei's smug look turned into a dark glare causing her to push Haku back harder overpowering the woman, "How dare you! You fucking bitch…I'm going to cut your tongue out and force you to swallow it for that!"

Haku grabbed Mei's wrist causing the two to become enveloped in water before Mei was frozen over up to her neck. Haku reared back to stab with her sword but was unsuccessful as Mei exploded out of the prison of ice. Steam began to swirl around the two women causing the heat to rise and the ice to rapidly melt. Mei's body began to glow blue and she went through several hand seals. Out of nowhere, rocks began form around her creating a second skin of armor.

Haku formed water over her sword and created her whip lashing at the woman as she transformed. The whip wrapped around Mei as she launched lava out of her mouth. Haku watched in awe as the lava formed around her creating molten armor. Mei laughed as she absorbed the surrounding steam and evaporated the water from the whip, "I'll give you a taste of true power!" Suddenly, the mist was released in a huge explosion completely melting everything surrounding her. "It is done…" Mei spoke cockily as she examined the aftermath. After the steam subsided, Mei saw a huge sphere of ice floating in the air towards her.

Suddenly it exploded launching thousands of ice shards in all directions. Mei's armor was demolished by the attack causing it crumble. Many of the surrounding Anbu were impaled from the blast and fell over dead. The brunette then landed in front of the woman and froze the surrounding water once again. Haku began to channel chakra into her arm causing a spiral to swirl around her finger tips. Mei shot a huge wave of lava at her as she did so, but it came up short when Haku fired a powerful ice beam. The beam flew through the wave and completely enveloped Mei. Haku smiled as she walked slowly towards the red head continuing to channel the beam. Mei groaned as she tried to melt the ice but was unsuccessful. Haku brought up her sword and held it to Mei's throat as she continued to channel the attack.

"See you in hell bitch!" Haku yelled as she reared her arm back to slice Mei's throat. Unfortunately for her, Mei spit lava at her arm causing Haku to shout in pain and the beam to subside. Mei's burst out of the icy tomb and delivered a powerful kick to Haku sending the girl flying into a demolished building. Mei roared proudly as she glanced over to Zabuza and Raiga.

The Anbu Commander and Zabuza were viciously thrashing their elemental blades at one another. Zabuza managed to negate all of Raiga's fire attacks through his water cyclones. They left the surrounding harbor in devastation as fire and water clashed. Mei made a dash towards Zabuza and launched a huge wave of lava at his blind side catching him by surprise. Before he had time to react, he was desperately flailing his blade to protect himself from the inferno caused by Raiga and Mei. He looked around for Haku as he began to waver under the pressure put upon him by the two enemies.

To his relief, Haku ambushed Raiga and froze his leg in place. Zabuza cleaved his sword at the man creating a whirlpool around the Anbu Commander sucking him further down into the water. Haku completely enveloped him in ice before Mei smashed down in front of the two and forged a huge hand made of magma slapping them back. Raiga managed to bust out of the ice and shook his head in relief as he looked over at Mei, "I can't believe I'm saying it…but thanks."

Mei laughed as she turned towards the man and smiled. Before he had a chance to react, Mei was standing behind him with her curved kunai held to his throat. Zabuza and Haku exchanged shocked glances as Mei began to speak, "Thanks for the sword, Raiga…I'll put it to much better use than you will. It's a shame you had to pass up that goodbye kiss…because now you die!" Mei slashed the man's throat afterwards causing him to fall over and sink into the water as blood sprayed from his neck. Mei picked up Aurorafang and turned back towards Zabuza and Haku.

Haku began to laugh as Mei sheathed her kunai and flourished her new weapon, "You sure you know how to handle one of those babe? I'm surprised you can lift anything bigger than a tube of lipstick." She glared at Haku as she shook her head, "I'm getting really sick of you two!" Mei gripped the blade tightly causing her body to glow blue before she was suddenly enveloped completely in fire. Zabuza sighed, "Shit…"

Mei spit a massive amount of lava from her mouth down into the water causing it to steam up and creating a huge fountain of lava. She rose up from the fountain and began to laugh darkly, "Your pathetic siege ends now!" The lava formed into a massive tsunami flowing towards the duo. Zabuza immediately reacted, "Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!" (Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave) Water and Lava then clashed in a huge double sided tsunami wreaking massive destruction and completely obliterating the harbor. Several unfortunate civilians were caught in the crossfire. Mei dived towards Zabuza and swirled her fiery blade at him launching lava at the swordsman. He created a massive cyclone to counter the attack causing the water and lava to swirl and turning the remnants of the two waves into a massive maelstrom. Both channeled their chakra furiously adding more and more of their elements into the whirlpool.

Much to both of their surprise, Haku froze the entire thing allowing the water to immerse the lava. Mei did a triple somersault as she flurried her blade at Zabuza. Wild lashes of lava made contact with him, but were unsuccessful in their endeavor as his body turned to water revealing it to be a water clone.

Zabuza cleaved his massive sword at the woman from behind almost decapitating her, but she ducked just in time and sent a fiery kick at the man. As he went flying she flourished Aurorafang creating multiple flamethrowers after him. Before they made their mark however, Haku created a massive ice wall to block the flames and jumped in front of Mei with her short sword held high. Haku laughed as she shook her head, "You'll have to do better than that. Try this on for size…Makyō Hyōshō!" (Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors)

Twenty one massive ice mirrors formed around the fiery woman causing her to look around in confusion as Haku's reflection appeared in all of them. Mei leaped towards the nearest mirror and attempted to smash it with her sword, but was immediately stopped in her tracks as hundreds of ice spikes shot out of the mirrors and the frozen ground causing her to back flip from them. Mei shot a pillar of fire from the weapon and attempted to melt several of the mirrors, but it had no effect much to her complete shock. The fire around Mei's body began to dissipate slowly causing her to look around questioningly, "What the fuck is this?"

Before Haku had a chance to answer, Zabuza landed in front of Mei and shook his head, "Haku's ice mirrors are her most powerful attack. They are so cold that they are as hard as diamonds." Mei shrugged annoyed as she gripped her sword tighter, "Yeah right…I'll break those thing easily!" Snow then began to fall causing Mei to look up in the sky, "Why is it snowing?"

"Those mirrors are so cold that they create snow! Haku's ice mirrors are draining your heat! You stand no chance against us both in here. We're unstoppable for a reason!" Zabuza shouted as he slashed his blade towards Mei. She began to rapidly parry Zabuza's cleaver which created a glorious elemental clash once again. Out of nowhere, ice rained from all directions at the two much to Mei's surprise, completely imbedding herself and Zabuza in the crossfire. Mei was shocked as the swordsman dissipated into another water clone. She tried to melt the ice lances sticking out of her but to no avail they remained. Then, the falling snow began to whirl around her in a blizzard created by Zabuza. He laughed at the red head as she was unable to see a thing while getting blasted from all sides by ice lances.

Mei tried to create another wave of lava but before she could, Zabuza kicked her in the throat and caused her to start coughing up blood. She barely countered another wave of cleaves from the masked swordsman as she tried to recover. Aurorafang began to glow red then and Mei shot a powerful wave of fire at Zabuza. The swordsman negated the fire as he swung his glowing sword powerfully causing the fire to condense into a flaming vortex. Zabuza then launched another wave of water from his mouth putting the flames out and smashing Mei off balance.

As she stood up, the woman noticed the ice mirrors surrounding her slowly beginning to convex completely combining into a huge dome. She ran full speed and tried to break the ice with her sword but was held still as Zabuza burst from the ice beneath her feet and held her in place. Mei writhed as the mirror dome completely enveloped her in a sphere. Zabuza got out of the water and looked over at Haku who held the woman suspended in the icy sphere. Mei looked defeated and sighed, "Well played you two…my life is forfeit."

"There's something I think that you should know Mei…your precious godfather is the one who ordered the purge of bloodlines. That's why I turned against him…I don't know what the hell he's been telling you for all these years, but he's responsible for your clan getting wiped out." The red head shook her head in disbelief, "What the fuck? No…he wouldn't do that. You're a damn liar! Yagura has always done everything in his power to shield me from the fear and hatred the village shows me." Haku sighed in irritation and responded, "Oh get over yourself! Yagura isn't the saint you think he is!"

"Just hear me out for a minute, Mei…back when I was a Swordsman of Mist, Yagura commanded me to kill your clan, but I refused. He personally murdered your entire family…you were the only survivor because I protected you…but after I did so, he and I had a huge battle that ended in my allies turning against me and causing me to flee. I learned later from several informants that Yagura pinned the blame on me so that he could manipulate you."

Mei looked horrified as she replied, "I…I don't know what to say. How can I be sure that you aren't just making this up?" Zabuza shook his head with a callous look on his face, "Believe what you will, but that's the truth. Think about it for a minute…If I truly hated bloodlines then why would I have taken Haku in? Or for that matter why would I have decided to follow Pein?"

Mei managed to force another smile as she looked over to Zabuza, "Part of me thinks you're lying…but I can't deny the logic behind your reasoning. Still though…how can I be sure that this isn't some kind of trick to turn me against him?" Mei was staring fiercely at Zabuza awaiting an answer. He sighed as he walked closer towards her, "Listen Mei…why would I lie to you now? If I truly killed your family I wouldn't have bothered telling you all of this. It doesn't have to be this way…I don't want to kill you all because of some misunderstanding built upon years of lies."

"Maybe you are right…I can't believe how stupid I've been. Why would Yagura do that though? And why would he take care of me all these years?" Mei asked Zabuza as she shook her head conflicted.

"Come with us and you can ask him yourself…I know that you are sensible enough to see the truth in my words. I don't want to kill you," Zabuza said.

Haku squeezed her hand tighter and the sphere began to condense causing Mei to shout in pain, "Forget it Zabuza…why bother wasting time with this bitch?" The swordsman looked over and glared at Haku and waved his hand down, "Stop Haku…I'm trying to make Mei understand!" The ice user reluctantly loosened her grip causing Mei to pant in relief. "Fine…but you better convince her soon if you don't want her to die of hypothermia in that sphere."

Mei began to shiver uncontrollably as she felt her body become soaked inside the ice sphere. Zabuza face palmed at Haku and sighed, "Seriously, Haku…relax. And here I thought you were the merciful one…"

Mei looked over at her sword a short distance away and back to Zabuza, "Well…what happens now?" The swordsman walked over and picked up Aurorafang and looked at the red head, "Here's the deal Mei…we'll let you live if you help us kill Yagura." Mei's eyes shot open in surprise and she began to laugh between shivers, "Are you asking me to join your little group? What the hell would your leader Pein say about that?"

"Zabuza, you've got to be kidding me…we can't trust this slut. We've already seen how loyal she is to her allies." The swordsman laughed and replied, "Why do you think I'm making this offer in the first place?" Haku scowled at the red head and shook her head, "She wouldn't do it anyways, she doesn't have the spine to become a missing nin!"

"I accept your offer, Zabuza!" Mei exclaimed as she shot a nasty smirk towards Haku. The ice princess made a gagging sound in disapproval, "Zabuza…no! This bitch is going to betray us the moment I let her go!" The swordsman looked at Mei and crossed his arms nodding his head, "Look Mei, I've already dealt with my fair share of betrayal…if you decide to turn against us then you won't just have me and Haku to worry about. We will personally have Pein deal with you."

Mei nodded her head and smiled, "I won't turn on you guys…If you wanted to kill me you already would have." Zabuza turned to Haku and nodded his head at her causing the woman to growl in irritation as she released the the sphere's hold. It melted back down to water and Mei fell to the frozen ground shivering. Zabuza walked over towards the woman and offered her a hand up which she immediately took.

"Thanks for making me understand, Zabuza…you're nothing like Yagura said you were. That's the real reason why I believe you," Mei explained as she began to warm herself up and examine her injuries. The swordsman nodded and replied, "Here's your sword Mei…for your sake I hope you don't decide to use it against us ever again." Mei nodded as she gripped her weapon and shook her head, "No, you've made your point. I just hope when we confront Yagura that you try to show a little mercy…he may have killed my family, but he's a jinchuuriki so I don't want to rule out certain circumstances."

Zabuza nodded his head, "We have experience with jinchuuriki…our leader Pein is one. He contains the Kyuubi." Mei's eyes shot open wide, "What? Pein's a jinchuurki and he has the Rinnegan?"

Haku was glaring daggers at the red head and paced around her slowly, "How do you know about the Rinnegan? Just how much do you know about our leader?" Zabuza looked over to his former apprentice and added, "Yeah Haku's got a point…not many people know about the Rinnegan."

"Yagura told me about a week ago…he said an Anbu unit sent to kill you three had an eyewitness survivor claiming Pein to have purple eyes." Mei answered casually. Zabuza laughed and shook his head, "I guess you were right Haku…we should have killed that guy. Oh well not like it matters anymore…Pein is extremely powerful, Mei. You're doing yourself a favor by allying with us and him."

"So Pein is the jinchuuriki of the nine tails? Where is he from? Who is he and is Pein his real name?" Mei began to question enthusiastically much to Haku's disapproval. She shook her head and looked to Zabuza, "I say we keep that on the down low until she proves just how loyal she really is."

The swordsman shrugged and said, "You'll find out for yourself when you meet him. All I'm going to tell you is that Pein isn't his real name." Mei nodded with interest sparking in her eyes, "Don't tease me with shit like that…I've been curious about him for years!"

"We're wasting time, so let's go." Haku impatiently stated causing Mei and Zabuza to nod. "We'll introduce you to Pein after we deal with Yagura." Zabuza said much to Haku's annoyance. Mei nodded her head and a sharp look plastered her features, "Good, I want answers from Yagura."

Without another word, the trio left in a dash leaving behind a frozen crater that used to be a harbor. Many of the surviving civilians were holding onto driftwood or washed against the beach. They cowered as the three shinobi ran by.

XXXXX

Kisame and Deidara were flying cheerfully over a nearby town on a large clay bird. The shark nin laughed as they swooped down towards it, "So you're telling me that Sasori didn't enjoy blowing towns up with you?"

Deidara laughed and nodded his head, "Yeah he was all super serious and said I was drawing too much attention to us. I just wish he would have truly appreciated the art!" Deidara threw several bombs down around the edges of the town and created several massive explosions. The villagers ran away in fear as fires began to spread around the forest and outer houses.

Kisame laughed as he watched the chaos unfold, "Very impressive…so you create a ring of explosions around the town to trap the villagers?" The blonde haired man nodded as he formed clay with his hands, "Yeah, and then I throw down the big one in the center. The surrounding fires will force them all to the center where I can blow up the most people at once." Deidara then chucked a massive bomb down at the center of the town and left a huge mushroom cloud of fire. He and Kisame burst out laughing as they watched the ashes rain.

"I can see why you enjoy this now." Kisame said as the bird flew circles around the devastated area. Deidara placed a hand to his chin and nodded, "Art is the greatest form of expression. By leaving such an impressionable explosion here, I will be renown for my vision…hm." The shark nin laughed as he shook his head, "So what do you think about Tobi recruiting Pein into Akatsuki?" The blonde man shrugged as he stared at the remnants of the explosion, "I'm not sure really…it seems kind of contradictory to Tobi's plan. I mean if Pein is a jinchuuriki then why would he help us capture them?"

"I'm with you there…I seriously doubt Pein is the kind of person to take orders from Tobi," Kisame said nodding his head. "It's a shame though…Pein is really powerful from what I hear," Deidara laughed. Kisame looked over at him and nodded his head, "He's tough, but even he doesn't stand a chance against all of us…let alone Tobi."

"I barely know anything about Tobi…seems like all he ever wants to do is talk to Itachi and send us away on errands." Deidara said shaking his head in annoyance."

"I think we should head back now before Itachi gets anal…we've been gone for several hours," Kisame said as he looked at the horizon. Deidara shook his head in annoyance, "Fucking Itachi…I hate that guy. I don't know how the hell you get along with that arrogant prick." The shark nin shrugged, "Itachi is a good partner but he has a lot of personal issues. Tobi ordered me to follow Itachi's orders so I do just that. Although I honestly don't know why…it seems like Tobi and Itachi hate each other."

"Tobi just keeps to himself and we don't even question him. That seems a bit strange to me. He doesn't appreciate art either…" Kisame laughed and shook his head, "His form of art involves manhandling Itachi and talking about power and dominace." Deidara smirked smugly at Kisame's comment. "That might be my second favorite form of art. Alright let's head back." Deidara sighed as he turned his bird around and flew towards the horizon.

XXXXX

Naruto, Konan, and Fu were at last at the Valley of the End. They passed into the large clearing and Fu's eyes shot open in awe, "Wow this place is pretty! I'm kind of surprised that some secret dark group would meet here." Naruto shrugged as he looked around the valley. A wave of nostalgia washed over him as he saw the statues of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju in the distance, '_Seems like a life time ago since the last time I was here. Last time I came here I had a great battle with Sasuke…I wonder how the last few years have treated him...'_ The demon fox huffed at this thoughts, **"Who gives a shit! Fucking Uchihas…I don't want to be here any longer than necessary; I've had enough of this place…this valley is a battle scar."**

'_How so? I've only ever been here once. Were you here a long time ago? You seem kind of scared of this place.' _Naruto asked Kyuubi. The fox laughed at his question and answered, **"I was at the first battle in this Valley between those two fools…I pretty much created it." **Naruto was surprised by the Biju's answer, '_You mean the first Hokage and Madara Uchiha? How were you there?'_

"**It was a long time ago…but that Uchiha was very powerful. He found a way to control me during his pathetic battle with that peace-loving tree-hugger, Hashirama. I don't know what happened to him though…Madara disappeared after he extracted me from my previous container close to two decades ago."**

'_Madara Uchiha? You've got to be joking…how could he have extracted you? He's been dead for almost a century…how is he still alive?' _Naruto asked shocked. The fox growled in anger and replied, **"Madara is immortal. If there is anybody in the world you should fear it's him…his chakra is extremely powerful. Not only that, but his Sharingan puts everything short of your Rinnegan to shame."**

'_Why what's so special about it?' _Naruto questioned as he stared at the statue in the distance. **"I'm done talking about this…you can ask him yourself if we meet him." **_'I've got the feeling that you aren't telling me everything…is there anything I should know about?'_

"**It's not my place to tell you. If you ever meet Madara I'm sure he will." **

"Naruto! Naruto! Snap out of it!" The man was brought back to reality by the voice of Fu yelling.

"Sorry, about that I was distracted for a minute…I have a lot of memories in this place," Naruto said as he looked over towards the concerned green haired jinchuuriki. She smiled and shook her head in relief, "I don't think those people Konan was talking about are here. This place seems king of tranquil like nothing could possibly go wrong."

Konan face palmed at Fu, "You dumb bitch…they ARE here!" As if signaled by Konan's comment, several black cloaked figures appeared around the trio. Naruto looked at the several newcomers interested as he examined their faces. Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, and Itachi were all standing around the three shinobi staring at Naruto with fascinated glances. **"Not this asshole again…I guess this is the welcoming committee. Where's Sushi man at I wonder?"**

Itachi spoke up first as he walked closer towards Naruto, "It's been several years since we last met Naruto…you have grown considerably." Sasori who was wearing his puppet armor Hiruko cocked his head in confusion, "Wait what? Who the hell is Naruto?"

Hidan sized up the Rinnegan wielder and started staring at his eyes, "So you really do have the Rinnegan…those fucking eyes don't look like I imagined." Kakuzu sighed at Hidan and shook his head in annoyance, "I'm surprised you can imagine anything considering the number of times you've hit your head…" Hidan glared at him and yelled back, "Hey fuck you! I'll go burn all of your money if you keep talking shit!" Kakuzu shook his head and glared darkly, "No…you won't."

Naruto crossed his arms and glared at Itachi, "I hardly think we're on friendly terms asshole…your fucking Amaterasu hurt like hell too, thanks!" Hidan looked shocked at Naruto's statement and burst out laughing, "You made a mistake by coming here Pein!" Itachi sighed as he shook his head, "Kisame and I were only following orders. I apologize for our past transgression."

"**Figures he'd go apologizing now…what a bitch." **Naruto raised a brow at Itachi and looked over the newcomers skeptically, "Konan told me you guys were here…I came to wrap up the issues your little group has been causing me." Itachi looked over towards the blue haired woman and actually smiled, "It is good to see you are still alive, Konan…although I was rather surprised when Tobi told me."

"How the hell would he know that? Who the fuck is Tobi?" Naruto asked in a serious tone causing the others to look at Itachi. The Uchiha sighed again and answered, "He has kept a close eye on you for years…Tobi wants to speak to you." Naruto stared at the Sharingan wielder with a dark glare, "And I'm supposed to trust the people that have been hunting for jinchuuriki for over five years?"

Fu looked shocked and cut into the conversation, "Just who exactly are these people Naruto? Why do they want jinchuuriki?" Konan looked at Itachi and laughed much to Naruto and Fu's surprise, "This girl just so happens to be a jinchuuriki…I imagine you guys were missing one right?"

Naruto looked shocked upon hearing Konan's statement. Sasori examined Fu interested and nodded his head, "So you found the seven tails…Tobi will need to hear about this." Suddenly, a large clay bird landed on the ground next to the group and Kisame and Deidara hopped off with shocked looks on their faces.

"KONAN! You truly are an artist!" Deidara cheered as he and Kisame walked up to the azure haired woman. She nodded her head at them, "Yeah…I'm alive. I brought Pein and the Seven tail's jinchuuriki here."

Kisame walked straight up to the woman and shook his head in disbelief, "How the hell did you pull this off?" Konan smirked at him and closed her eyes, "Finesse beats raw power every time…just another reason why I am better that you Kisame."

Naruto was in utter disbelief as he looked over at the group of Akatsuki members. Konan walked over to them and turned around to face Naruto and Fu. "Konan, what the hell are you doing?" Naruto demanded. The woman sighed and shook her head, "My job…I knew that if I told you about this meeting you would insist upon going."

Fu growled in anger and shouted, "You backstabbing Cunt! Naruto she sold you out!"

"**Why am I not surprised…this is why you don't trust women kit." **Naruto glared at the group and cracked his knuckles, "So you brought me here for what? So that you could gang up and ambush me…sorry but numbers won't matter against me."

"We'll see about that! You don't look so tough pretty boy!" Hidan shouted as he drew his scythe. Fu spit on the ground and leered at Konan darkly, "Mother fucking bitch! Why the hell did you lead us into this trap?" Kisame laughed as he looked over towards Naruto. "You're not so high and mighty now are you asshole?" he asked much to Naruto's disapproval.

"I'm surprised you haven't started running yet…you and your girlfriend, Itachi!" Naruto said as he blew a kiss to Itachi. Deidara laughed loudly and looked over towards an emotionless Itachi. The other members of Akatsuki didn't laugh at the comment, but Kisame smiled. "I've been looking forward to seeing you again Pein! Me and Itachi are going to destroy you this time!" Kisame chuckled as he pulled his sword off his back.

"Enough! You insignificant fools will show Pein the proper respect!" Tobi commanded as he landed next to the group. They all looked confused as Madara shook his head at them, "Forgive my minions for their poor hospitality, Naruto."

Naruto looked at the man and sighed, "How the fuck do all of you people know who I am?"

"Itachi and Shizune have told me a lot about you. I had no idea that somebody in your position was the container of the nine tails until after Itachi and Kisame's poorly attempted failure to capture you. Oh forgive my manners…Hi, I'm Tobi. I'm the leader of Akatsuki." Madara said calmly as be began to pace back and forth. The Rinnegan wielder was shocked at the mention of the medic nin. "Shizune? Why would she tell you anything? She's the Hokage's attendant." Naruto stated.

"I don't work for Tsunade, Naruto-kun…I have been feeding Tobi information about Konoha for years." Shizune landed next to the group holding an unconscious blonde haired girl and smiled. "You've grown so handsome since I last saw you…I can't believe how ironic it is that you left, because everybody at Konoha was upset about you disappearing. Tsuande cried for weeks." Naruto rolled his eyes and looked back over to Shizune, "Is that supposed to mean anything to me? Once I make their perfect little society collapse around them, I am going to show that village the true meaning of pain and of fear."

Shizune crossed her arms and looked unconvinced, "I hardly doubt that you have the heart to kill Tsunade or Jiraiya…they won't stand by and let you destroy the village." Naruto glared at the woman and responded darkly, "Who's to say that I won't just resurrect them?" Shizune was taken aback by his response and looked over at Madara who began to laugh.

"Your resolve is impressive, Naruto…you truly are living up to my expectations!" Madara said proudly. Kisame rolled his eyes and traded an amused look with Itachi. The other members of Akatsuki remained quiet watching the scene with interest. Fu's anger had died down out of sheer curiosity as she examined the members thoroughly. Konan's mind wandered at the mention of Jiraiya, '_He's still alive? I had no idea Naruto knew my old sensei.'_

"Alright, so you brought me here…now I want some answers." Naruto stated as he looked back and forth between Konan and Madara. The masked man nodded his head and replied, "What would you like to know exactly?"

"**I recognize that voice! Is that…no…you are in a lot of danger right now!" **

'_You mean…you know who he his? That can only mean one thing…'_ **"Yes…He is Madara Uchiha. I can't believe I didn't see this coming! You need to get out of here…those other fools you can handle, but Madara is a different league." **Naruto was shocked upon hearing the distressed news from the fox and shook his head confusing everyone around him.

'_Shit…as if this situation couldn't have gotten worse…the least I can do if get some answers.' _Naruto stared intently at the masked man and answered, "First of all…I want you to take off the mask, Madara." Everyone present was completely surprised by Naruto's comment and all looked over at the orange masked man in disbelief. Deidara shook his head, "Wait a minute…Madara as in Madara Uchiha? Oh god damn it! You've got to be kidding me…we've got two Uchihas in Akatsuki now?"

Hidan scratched his head and looked at the statue of Madera a short distance away, "You mean Tobi is the statue of the guy over there? What the fuck…why doesn't anybody tell me these things?" Kakuzu sighed at Hidan and shook his head, "You're an idiot for not figuring it out sooner. I mean who here didn't know?" Deidara rolled his eyes at Kakuzu, "Not everybody is here is a hundred something years old like you asshole…un." Sasori nodded his head and added, "I was also unaware of Tobi's identity…"

Madara removed his mask and threw it to the ground revealing his face. Everyone stared intently at his serene face. "I imagine Kyuubi must have told you then…he is very clever," Madara stated as he began to smile. **"Tell him I said he can eat a dick!" **

"Since you went through all the trouble of bringing me here, why don't tell me all about Akatsuki and why I shouldn't murder each and every one of you." Naruto demanded as he stared down the Uchiha.

Madara laughed and nodded his head, "Very well…I am Madara Uchiha. I'm the founder of the Uchiha clan and cofounder of Konoha." Deidara shook his head and face palmed, "Oh damn it…I liked you better as Tobi." Madara glared at the blonde silencing him before he turned his focus back towards Naruto.

"I created Akatsuki a number of years ago to gather powerful allies for my plans. Kisame, Konan, and Orochimaru were my first minions. I found them all wasting their potential in different places. Kisame was working for Kirigakure loyally serving people who were weaker than he was, Konan was still a teenager at the time running a criminal cartel out of Iwagakure, and Orochimaru was waning under the influence of Konoha. I found them and gave them a new purpose."

Naruto raised a brow at the sannin's name, "Orochimaru? If he's part of your group then why isn't he here now?" Madara sighed and shook his head disappointed, "Orochimaru got a bit ambitious and tried to take Itachi's body for his own…I realized that he wasn't interested in my vision…only in his own selfish goals. I cast him out afterwards and I have had Zetsu watch him ever since."

"Such a shame…I always liked Orochimaru," Sasori added. "Why not kill him? I've been hunting that snake for years…" Naruto asked. Madara shrugged and answered, "Orochimaru is still one of my favorite minions…I decided to let him go his own way. Either way I knew that he wouldn't interfere with my plans, and that he would be a distracting threat for Konoha and Suna."

"Who is Zetsu?" Naruto asked as he examined the group in front of him. Answering his question, a maw sprung from the ground and opened revealing the black and white plant man. "That would be me." his dark half answered as he walked over towards Madara. Naruto looked at him curiously.

"That is Zetsu…he is my top agent. I picked him up a year after the original three…I won't go into the details. In the following years, I bolstered Akatsuki with the members you see before you. Kakuzu was a missing nin from Taki…I found his hatred for Konoha and Hashirama most welcoming. Sasori was an impressive missing nin who I offered a place after he single handedly wiped out an army of Suna nin." Madara said as he pointed to each individual member.

Naruto nodded his head and asked, "What about the others?" The elder Uchiha looked towards his followers and began to pace around them. He stopped in front of Itachi and placed his hand on the back of the man's neck, "Itachi came to us next…after I helped him destroy the Uchiha Clan. He is my apprentice."

Naruto shook his head at the sight and smirked, "He looks like your bitch…" Deidara burst into laughter again and added, "Finally somebody else agrees with me on that un?" Madara then walked behind Deidara and placed both hands on the man's shoulders, "This is Deidara…he used to be the Tsuchikage's pupil. He was working as a terrorist bomber before we picked him up. I sent Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori to recruit him. It took a bit of convincing but they eventually reeled him in."

Deidara glared fiercely over at Itachi and huffed, "Yeah whatever…I could have easily just blown us all up hm." Sasori shook his head and sighed, "Oh Deidara…you really need to get over yourself." The blonde crossed his arms and flung his hair in disapproval.

Fu looked over at Naruto and sighed, "Do we really need to hear about their damn history, Naruto? I say we kick some asses or we leave…this is starting to bore me." Madara laughed at the mint haired girl and responded, "Nobody asked for your opinion, princess. Be silent while I am speaking." Fu began to growl angrily at the man and clenched her fists, "Why you!" Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her and looked into her eyes, "Be patient Fu…I want all the facts before we decide to do anything." The tan girl reluctantly agreed and began to pout.

"As I was saying…" Madara continued, "The last one there is Hidan. He is our newest member…he actually came to us asking to join much to my surprise. Normally I don't accept people who ask, but he is an exception due to his unique abilities." Kakuzu snorted at Madara's statement and added, "He's only here because of me…a decision I live to regret every day."

"Hey Fuck You, Kakuzu!" Hidan yelled at the man causing him to sigh in annoyance. Naruto looked over at Shizune and asked, "So what about Shizune? How did she end up working for you?" The proud medic nin decided to answer before Madara opened his mouth, "I was recruited back when Madara and Itachi wiped out the Uchiha Clan. I am one of his best informants and his second best spy next to Zetsu."

Naruto rolled his eyes at her pride, "I never would have guessed…you always seemed so skittish to me." Shizune huffed at him and replied venomously, "I never would have guessed that some happy-go-lucky dimwit kid like you turned into the most notorious criminal in the world. I wonder what your father would say if he was alive." Naruto glared at the woman darkly and asked, "You know who my father is?"

Shizune nodded her head, "Oh yeah…I know a lot about him. Your father was the Yondaime Hokage. His name is Minato Namikaze. I find it ironic that Konoha's greatest hero sired its greatest enemy." Naruto unleashed a wave of killing intent and clenched his fists, "You knew all this time and you didn't tell me?"

Shizune was frozen still by the wave of anger flowing from Naruto. After a moment she managed to reply, "Why would I? That's not something you needed to know. Although if you want the facts, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Hiruzen and myself all knew. The Sandaime didn't want anybody to find out." He shook his head in disgust before looking at the girl in Shizune's arms, "Who's the girl Shizune neechan?" saying the last part as bitterly as possible.

Itachi answered him much to his surprise however, "That's the Raikage's daughter. Her name is Yugito and she is the two tail's jinchuuriki." Naruto shook his head at the sight and started to laugh ominously, "Well isn't that special…You've got a nice little collection of cocks and assholes here! Now you guys can all go fuck yourselves!"

Madara sighed at the Shizune before speaking again, "These are my followers, Naruto. We follow an ideal very similar to your own. I seek to recreate a new world. The shinobi nations have grown stagnant and have been waning for years. Wars constantly break out and clans fight over dominance. Our mission is to establish a centralized seat of power and break the reign of the Kages. Most importantly I want to wipe out the Senju ruled Konoha. Seeing as how you bear no love for that village I want to give you an offer."

"**Ask him why he wants Jinchuuriki." **Kyuubi commented. Naruto shook his head skeptically, "There's a few things you need to explain for me first. Why do you want jinchuuriki?"

Madara sighed, "I want their tailed beasts so that I can use them against their own villages. My original intentions were to extract the Biju from their containers and send them on a rampage. We would then stop the Biju and receive autonomy over the shinobi world." The members of Akatsuki looked at Madara perplexed and Sasori spoke up, "So that's why you wanted them? How do you plan on controlling them…Madara?"

"The same way I controlled Kyuubi…the same way I control the Mizukage…the same way that I control all of you." Madara stated plainly.

"Your original intentions? So what about me? And what about Fu and the other jinchuuriki?" Naruto asked as he looked back over at Yugito. Madara smiled proudly as he responded. "If you and your little green haired girlfriend would be willing, you could join us and there would be no need to extract your Biju. I simply want to remove every jinchuuriki from the control of the five great shinobi nations so that nothing will stand in our way when we finally overthrow the Kages."

"What about her?" Naruto asked as he looked at the unconscious blonde haired girl. Madara shrugged casually and replied, "That depends on what she decides to do. I originally intended on using her as bait to capture the eight tails, but I'm sure she would be willing to listen to you if you gave her some big noble speech like you do to your other followers." Kisame cut in dryly, "She's not going to betray her village. I clearly remember her threatening about how Kumo is going to 'Stop us.'"

Fu looked over at Naruto unsure, "What do you think about all this Naruto? His offer isn't that bad…" Naruto was staring vacantly at the group unsure for a moment as he thought about Madara's offer. The familiar loud voice in his head began shouting, **"Don't trust Madara! He's using your own ideals against you…he is trying to control you."**

Everyone was staring intently at Naruto anxiously awaiting his response. After a minute, he finally answered, "I refuse your offer!" Everyone's eyes shot open and they all stared at him shocked as he glared at Madara. Konan looked worried and ran up to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and stared deeply into his eyes, "Naruto don't do this! There's no reason to deny Madara's offer! Isn't that what you wanted? Please reconsider…it doesn't have to be this way!"

"That's the most emotion I've ever seen Konan show," Kisame stated as he watched the scene with curiosity. Madara remained silent and continued to watch Naruto. The other members of Akatsuki were staring at the pair interested.

Naruto gave Konan and blank stare and pushed her back, "You chose your side Konan…I will have nothing to do with you." the azure beauty looked shocked and shook her head in disbelief, "I thought we were on the same side! Why are you doing this!" Fu slapped Konan away from Naruto sending her flying, "Back off bitch!" Konan landed on her feet and shook her head horrified as Naruto turned back towards Madara.

"It's ironic…your mother said the exact same thing. I guess I shouldn't really be surprised that you would turn against me as well. It's your pathetic Senju blood I suppose." Madara commented casually. Shizune looked over at Madara and looked surprised, "He has Senju blood?"

Madara nodded his head, "Yes, the whole Uzumaki clan has Senju blood…but you already knew that didn't you Naruto?" Madara pulled a familiar book out of his pocket and began to laugh, "Rikudo Sennin…I wonder, how much of this did you actually read?" The Rinnegan wielder glared darkly and answered, "The whole thing."

"I'm surprised you didn't know of its value…I wondered why you would leave such a priceless artifact back in Konoha but now it makes sense. You wanted it to be found by the Hokage because she is Hashirama's last living descendant…well besides yourself." Madara said as he paced around enthusiastically.

Naruto crossed his arms and shook his head, "How exactly am I related to the first Hokage?" Everyone was intently interested as Madara answered, "Your mother Kushina was Mito and Hashirama's granddaughter. Kushina's mother was an experiment. I wanted to recombine the bloodlines to create the Rinnegan. Unfortunately, my daughter Kushina didn't receive the Rinnegan...she only got my chakra. You on the other hand inherited the best of both bloodlines which is why you have your eyes, your chakra, and amplified affinities."

Everyone with the exception of Itachi was completely shocked by Madara's explanation. "What?" Kisame shouted in disbelief. "I can't believe this…" Sasori added. Deidara just started laughing, "Today's just full of surprises un!"

"That makes Tsunade Kushina's cousin and Madara your grandfather," Shizune stated the obvious to Naruto. He was shocked beyond all belief. **"You wouldn't have believed it from me…"**

"See, Naruto…you belong in Akatsuki. Don't turn against us…Madara wants you with us!" Konan said passionately as she stared at the jinchuuriki. Madara nodded his head, "Don't be foolish like your mother…I have given you your gifts. The Rinnegan, your chakra, even the Kyuubi is yours because of me. You owe me all!"

"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto blasted the Akatsuki members back. They all smashed against the nearby cliff wall. Madara was unaffected by the blast and began to laugh, "Your defiance will not be tolerated! If you refuse to serve me than I shall take 'my eyes' back from your head!"

"Just try it mother fucker!" Naruto roared fiercely. "Don't you mean grandmother fucker?" Madara asked amused. Naruto shook his head in disgust, "This changes nothing! You're going to die for killing my mother!" Madara started to laugh louder at Naruto's anger as the members of Akatsuki began to surround the jinchuuriki, "I needed Kyuubi to destroy Konoha. She refused to help me so I extracted the fox and killed her afterwards!"

'_Why the fuck didn't you tell me that?'_ Naruto asked Kyuubi angrily. **"We'll discuss that later…right now I suggest you deal with these people." **Fu looked around and over towards Naruto, "Let's kill them! These guys are a bunch of assholes!"

"You're not as smart as you think you are Madara! You made one fatal mistake in all of this…you forgot that I AM THE ONE WITH THE RINNEGAN!"

"Hidan, Kakuzu take the girl down. The rest of you kill, Naruto." Madara stated casually as he crossed his arms and leaned against the cliff wall. The assembly of Akatsuki members dashed at the two jinchuuriki with the exception of Zetsu and Shizune who stood by Madara near the cliff. Kisame immediately swung Samehada at Naruto and began to flail the weapon mercilessly at him. Kakuzu launched his arm at Fu attempting to capture her but she cart wheeled away from him and began to distance herself.

Hidan dashed full speed at the mint haired girl and swung his triple bladed scythe launching the weapon. Just as it was about to hit, Fu's entire arm turned solid and a spike came out blocking the scythe. Hidan reeled the weapon back and swung it rapidly at the jinchuuriki girl who acrobatically avoided the barrage. "Stand still you bitch!" Hidan yelled as he relentlessly flurried the weapon.

Fu flipped over Hidan and managed to land a hard kick to the side of his face sending him into the cliff wall. Kakuzu launched both of his arms at her wrapping her in strings before spikes shot out of her solidified back. He shook his head, "That is an interesting defense mechanism of yours." Hidan swung his scythe from behind the girl but she ducked and delivered another kick towards his face. Hidan caught her leg and threw her off balance before smashing his weapon down. Just as it was about to hit she jabbed her arm at the man stabbing him through the throat with a spike.

Before Hidan could react, Fu kneed him in the stomach as she got up. Out of nowhere, Kakuzu began launching another wave of strings at her. The mint haired girl had another spike protrude from her forearm and she began to cut through the waves. As she plowed through the weaving strings Fu made a dive to stab Kakuzu. "Doton: Domu!" As the spike attempted to stab the man, it failed to pierce Kakuzu's skin much to Fu's annoyance. "What the fuck is this?" She asked angrily before getting blindsided from behind by Hidan. Right as his scythe nearly his again, Fu's entire body turned hard and a shell formed blocking the attack.

"I thought you were dead?" Fu yelled as she turned to face Hidan again. Without a moment's hesitation, Fu launched both spikes from her arm at the man impaling him against the cliff wall. He began to laugh at her confusion and shouted, "Hahahahaha I'm immortal!" Before she had a chance to react, Kakuzu shouted, "Katon: Zukokku!" One of Kakuzu's masks launched a fireball at Fu. Right before it hit, Kakuzu went through his hand seals again, "Fūton: Atsugai!" Fu turned just in time to get hit by a fireball. The fireball blew up and was compressed against her by the wind jutsu causing a massive explosion..

After the blast cleared, Fu was glowing with golden orange chakra with two large chakra wings and a flowing tail. Her eyes were glowing brighter and her body was lined in spikes. Hidan managed to get himself off the wall and looked over to Kakuzu at the slightly transformed jinchuuriki and shook his head, "What does it take to kill this bitch?" Fu began to fly around the duo and wildly slash them with her new arm spikes.

Meanwhile, Naruto was dodging a storm of attacks from Kisame's sword, and Sasori's tail. He back flipped onto the water as he continuously avoided the rain of bombs Deidara was dropping from above. Itachi and Konan remained still watching the brawl. Kisame laughed as Naruto dodged and parried all of his attacks, "You're still the slippery fuck aren't you?"

Sasori's scorpion tail and Samehada simultaneously swung at the jinchuuriki before he flipped in time. The two weapons hit each other much to Sasori's annoyance as he began to yell, "Get out of the way Kisame so I can kill him!" A huge bomb just landed in the middle of the three shin obi before Naruto shot his hand out, "SHINRA TENSEI!" The bomb went flying into the side of Madara's statue and completely destroyed it along with half of the cliff edge.

Madara laughed at the destruction and shouted, "Itachi Konan Stop standing around! Kill him!" Kisame went through several hand seals and shouted, "Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!" (Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave) Kisame spit an enormous amount of water from his mouth and began to flood the valley bringing the water level way up. Sasori leaped at Naruto and began to rapidly flail his scorpion tail at the man. Naruto evaded the powerful whiptail and formed chakra in his hand.

Naruto then formed a huge watery dragon from launched it at Kisame as the shark nin rushed his flank. The powerful jutsu thrashed through the water and smashed the shark nin back and whipped Sasori's tail away with its own. Naruto's body glowed luminously as he poured more chakra into the dragon causing the body to spark with electricity. The electric water dragon then shocked Kisame throwing him off guard allowing Naruto to kick him in the chest.

Out of nowhere, a load of exploding paper tags wrapped around the dragon and began to blow it up. Naruto looked over at Konan shocked as she began to destroy the beast. Assisting her endeavor, Deidara launched a huge carpet bombing at the beast before it finally dissipated leaving a huge splash in its wake. Using it to his advantage, Naruto held his sword high in the air and a huge bolt of lightning shot down at it conducting the weapon before Naruto's swung it, "Fūton: Ryūjin Rasengan!" His body glowed as the wind and lightning combined into a huge chakra dragon that spiraled out of the blade. The Dragon annihilated the area with a static charge and rode the wave of left by Deidara's bomb.

Shizune looked over at Madara and shook her head in disbelief as the Akatsuki members avoided the static wave, "I've never seen jutsus like that before…how is he combining elements?" Madara smiled at the devastation as he answered, "That's called chakra weaving…it's a trait inherited by the Uzumaki clan. Since he has my chakra and the Rinnegan as well it amplifies the ability tenfold." Zetsu looked over at Madara and asked, "I think you should have made him a better offer…what's the point of all this? I know you won't let them kill him."

Madara shrugged at Zetsu carelessly, "I was expecting this…I wanted to know the full extent of his powers." Shizune laughed and shook her head in disbelief, "And they're only getting warmed up…"

Sasori's scorpion tail began to lash at Naruto again after the blast subsided. He parried the monstrous tail with his sword and counterattacked the wild jabs. Sasori's puppet Hiruko opened its mouth and arm and then began to fire shrapnel. As the projectiles closed in, Naruto went through some hand seals, "Fūton: Reppūshō!" (Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm) As Naruto launched the projectiles back at Sasori he unleashed a huge wave of fire with it. Sasori leaped over the flaming rebound and smashed his tail down towards Naruto again.

As the tail jabbed, Naruto held his hand up, "Jūha Reppū Shō (Beast Wave Violent Wind Palm) A huge hand of blue wind chakra launched from Naruto's hand grabbing Sasori. His puppet armor Hiruko was completely smashed in the attack and Sasori jumped out of the armor revealing his true self.

Naruto barely had time to examine the red headed puppet master before exploding tags and bombs rained over him. "Shinra Tensei!" Naruto launched the explosives in all directions leaving a chaotic recoil as one hit Deidara's clay bird. Konan formed hundreds of paper airplane exploding tags and sent them flying towards Naruto. He ran across the water avoiding the hail of explosions as the blue haired woman flew after him on her wings.

Black flames then erupted across the surface of the water creating a huge wall to block the jinchuuriki. Naruto created a huge wave of water and rode it across the flame wall only to meet Kisame riding a tsunami from the other side. The shark nin dove at Naruto with Samehada completely unwrapped and began to wildly flail the sword. Naruto barely dodged the powerful swings and went flying every time he parried the weapon. Kisame continued to berserk him before finally shaving the weapon across his chest. The sword grew larger after the contact and Naruto went flying. As he descended, bombs, exploding tags, and projectiles hailed him from all directions.

"Shinra Tensei!" The force from the wave left a massive explosion sending shrapnel flying in all directions. By this time, Yugito was awake sitting against the wall next to Shizune. She quickly examined her surroundings and was shocked by the sight of Naruto and Fu battling Akatsuki. "Who the fuck are they? Friends of yours?" Yugito asked Shizune amusingly. The medic nin looked at her and huffed, "Not that it's any of your concern, but that is Pein…and the girl is the jinchuuriki of the seven tails."

"Pein's here! I…I can't believe he looks like that! Those anbu descriptions didn't do him any justice…" Yugito laughed as she eyed Naruto from afar. Madara glared at Shizune and Yugito, "Be silent girl…I am watching the fight!" Yugito reluctantly kept her mouth shut remembering what normally happened when she didn't. Over with Hidan and Kakuzu, they were having a hard time pinning Fu down as the girl flew around slicing and dicing all of Kakuzu's strings and stabbing Hidan.

"Why the fuck won't she bleed!" Hidan asked pissed as he launched his scythe at the girl only to have it repeatedly rebound from Fu's armor and spikes. Kakuzu shook his head as he launched another fireball at her, "Katon: Zukokku!" The blast landed a hit and caused a massive explosion blowing Fu down to the ground. Hidan made another mad dash at the girl and sliced his scythe across her carapace shattering the shell. He cheerfully flourished the weapon and brought it down against her only to have a spike launch from her arm into his forehead. Fu then kicked the scythe out of his grasp and slashed the cable.

Hidan pulled the spike out pissed and attempted to retake his weapon only for Fu to fly into the air and throw it into the water. "YOU GOD DAMN BITCH!" Hidan roared furiously as he chucked the projectile at the woman managing to pierce another part of her armor. Kakuzu noticed the effect and yelled at his partner, "The spikes! Pick up those spikes they can easily pierce her armor!"

Hidan made a swift run by the wall and picked up half a dozen of them and threw a few at the girl. Fu managed to dodge the first two, but was immediately wrapped in a heavy weave of Kakuzu's strings allowing Hidan to throw three more spikes at her. They completely shattered her shell and Fu was unable to move as Hidan dove into the strings with the final spike stabbing it through Fu's chest. He pulled it out and licked the blood as the girl continued to struggle against the strings.

Kakuzu completely enveloped the girl in his strings and began to sink them into her before her entire body was covered in a huge ball covered in spikes. Hidan took the opportunity to retrieve his scythe from water as Kakuzu tried to break it open.

Back with Naruto, black flames left a large arc around him limiting his movement as the other members of Akatsuki violently tried to kill him. Sasori smirked at the man and commented, "You're quite impressive, Naruto…you have earned the right to die from my greatest power. Sasori summoned the third Kazekage puppet and laughed, "Even you won't stand a chance against this!"

The other members of Akatsuki backed away from the two knowing the dangers of Sasori's next move. The kazekage puppet floated around Naruto as Sasori unleashed his attack, "Satetsu Shigure (Iron Sand Drizzle) A large cloud of metallic dust began to form around the two and formed into bullet spikes. The Sand launched itself at Naruto.

Thinking quickly, Naruto looked towards Kisame and held his hand out, " Banshō Ten'in!" (Universal Pull) The shark nin was immediately sucked into the blast and Naruto used him as a human shield from the rain of sand bullets. Sasori halted his barrage and looked amused as Kisame fell over into the water from the blast. "Satetsu Kaihō!" (Iron Sand World Order) A massive sphere of iron sand merged around Naruto and began to protrude with spikes from all angles. Konan and Deidara bombed the area as Naruto avoided the spikes and Itachi used his Amaterasu launching black flames to surround the man.

Deidara laughed as he made more clay in his hands and threw down a massive bomb on the sphere of sand. Naruto had no time to react from the four way assault and was enveloped in black flames as multiple sand spikes stabbed through his skin. The bomb then fell directly on top of Naruto as he was impaled by more spikes. A devastating explosion rang throughout the entire valley completely blinding everyone temporarily.

Yugito watched in horror as the valley went silent. Shizune smirked and looked over at Madara, "Guess he wasn't that strong after all." Madara shook his head with a smile and turned to look at the woman, "It's not over yet…my dear girl." Shizune looked confused, "What do you mean? Nobody could have survived that?" Madara laughed at the girl, "Just watch, Shizune…"

As if on cue, Naruto shot out of the water glowing red with his familiar chakra cloak. Yugito watched in amazement as she noticed two giant purple chakra wings on his back. Naruto laughed at the Akatsuki members below and roared, "Is this it? IS THIS ALL YOU CAN THROW AGAINST ME!" Answering his challenge, a massive cyclone shot out of the water with an extremely pissed Kisame on top roaring, "ARRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!" Multiple cyclones and waterspouts erupted out of the water and violently orbited the pissed shark nin as he held Samehada high in his hand.

"THIS TIME YOU DIE MOTHER FUCKER!" Kisame roared loudly as the massive cyclones began to blast Naruto. The other members of Akatsuki retreated to the cliff edge next to Madara as Kisame created a hurricane. Deidara and Konan continued to fly over the massive lake and carpet bombed Naruto. Kisame made a bloodthirsty charge at Naruto riding down a tidal wave and swung Samehada inhumanly fast at the jinchuuriki trying to strike him. Naruto flew high to avoid the waves and avoided Kisame's relentless intercepts.

After a minute, Kisame drew all of the water in the valley into a massive maelstrom with the black flames from Amaterasu churning over the surface. The shark nin launched huge pillars of water out to trap Naruto and created a massive water prison. The shark nin then smashed Samehada against the water causing the churning water prison to surround Naruto in a massive orb. Before he had a chance to react, Kisame flew at him and smashed Samehada against him sucking his chakra cloak off and dispelling his wings. Naruto fell into the massive maelstrom and began to get sucked down to the center by the overwhelming pressure. Taking full advantage of the situation, Itachi leaped over to Kisame who stood on a waterspout channeling the massive whirlpool.

The swordsman looked at Itachi and spoke, "It's time to unveil the juggernaut!" The Uchiha nodded his head emotionlessly as he and Kisame were surrounded by a huge red aura of chakra. Madara watched the tag teamed assault amused and looked to the others, "This should be interesting…" Zetsu watched it interested and gave group commentary, "That must be Itachi's Susanoo! What is he doing with Kisame though?" Shizune's eyes shot open at the mention of the attack, "No way! This is crazy!" the red aura surrounding two men began to form a skeleton and armor around them. Kisame held Samehada with the blade facing down and Itachi grabbed the hilt. The two began to channel immense amounts of chakra into Itachi's Susanoo which fed off of Samehada like a conduit making it grow insanely large in size.

Back over with Fu, she was wrapped tight in the spiked ball despite Hidan and Kakuzu's efforts to break it open. They stopped their assault to watch the Itachi and Kisame's monstrosity in awe. Their Susanoo began to change color from red to a dark blue as it absorbed heavy amounts of water from the still churning maelstrom. Deidara watched the transformation shocked as he flew circles around the beast, _'What the fuck is that?'_

Konan flew back to Madara and the others and asked, "Did you know they could do that?" Madara laughed at her question and nodded his head, "I know everything about those two…so yeah I did." Yugito shook her head horrified, '_Oh my god…we are in a lot of trouble if Akatsuki can do shit like this…'_

"Where's Naruto at?" Konan asked worried as she stared at the whirlpool intently. "Why? Worried that your boyfriend might get hurt, Konan?" Shizune asked venomously causing Konan to glare at her. Yugito looked at the blue haired woman and asked, "Who the hell is Naruto?" Konan rolled her eyes at the blonde and answered, "Naruto is Pein you stupid bitch."

Naruto was lying at the bottom of the maelstrom crushed by the pressure drowning. Kyuubi was roaring loudly in his head for him move, **"GET UP! Use my chakra!" **another distant echo was ringing in his head as well much to his own confusion, '_Summon hell to destroy them!_'A loud noise brought everybody's attention back to the scene at hand as Naruto burst out of the whirlpool glowing blood red with Kyuubi's chakra again.

Naruto's Rinnegan eyes were red with a slit. The whirlpool subsided as he landed back on the water. Naruto looked at the massive juggernaut Susanoo and began to laugh much to everybody's surprise, "HAHAHAHAHAHA! TASTE THE TRUE POWER OF DEATH! Kuchiyose: Gedō Mazō!" (Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path)

Everybody was shocked as a massive colossus appeared from the bottom of the lake. Naruto stood on the statue's head as it rose from the water to face Susanoo. Itachi and Kisame traded worried looks as the behemoth statue began walking towards them. Then, the red chakra from Kyuubi began to spread over the Gedo Statue. Everyone watched in horror as nine crimson red tails sprang from Naruto.

Susanoo instantly began to slash at Naruto but was unsuccessful as the statue caught the blade. It opened its mouth and a dozen crimson red chakra dragons shot out circling Kisame and Itachi trying break through Susanoo's shield. The statue and Susanoo furiously brawled causing unspeakable destruction to the Valley of the End. Naruto channeled the movements of the statue and grabbed Susanoo's shield and sword arm trying to push it back as he launched more chakra dragons from the statue's mouth.

Caught off guard by their distraction, Kakuzu and Hidan didn't notice Fu burst out of the spiked ball with four golden orange wings and a long flowing tail. They desperately battled her off as she began to go through a transformation. Madara looked over at Sasori and ordered, "Help those two restrain the girl…I don't want her transforming." Sasori nodded as he took off towards Fu and launched his Iron Sand at her cooperatively with Kakuzu's strings.

Fu furiously tried to break from the restraints, but was unsuccessful as Sasori and Kakuzu continued to build upon her prison. Naruto's battle with Itachi and Kisame was intense as the monstrous titans clashed relentlessly against each other. Finally, they became locked in a deadlock as the statue gripped Susanoo's wrist. Kisame looked over to Itachi who was deep in concentration from channeling the ability, "Itachi! It's time for our last ace!" Itachi nodded his head as he and Kisame both gripped Samehada tighter. Everyone watched amazed as Kisame was absorbed into his blade and Itachi was absorbed completely by Susanoo. Naruto laughed as he channeled the red chakra around the statue and formed a super rasengan from its hand. Susanoo held up its shield awaiting the attack before Naruto's statue began to charge towards the warrior. As he clashed against Susanoo's shield, a shockwave of chakra erupted from both sides completely destroying both entities. After the blast cleared, Naruto was standing over the defeated forms of Itachi and Kisame. He drew his sword again and walked over towards their unconscious bodies.

Before he reached them, Madara appeared in front of him and began to clap his hands, "Bravo! Bravo! You really are everything I thought you'd be…now let's see how you fare against me." Madara began to stare into Naruto's now normal Rinnegan eyes again as the red chakra from Kyuubi receded. Out of nowhere, a huge bomb blew up over Madara. He broke eye contact with an exhausted Naruto looking up to see Deidara throwing bombs at him.

"What are you doing Deidara?" Madara shouted as he looked at the blonde man shocked. Deidara had Fu and Yugito on his clay bird and swooped down next to Naruto, "Hop on Naruto!" The Rinnegan wielder didn't hesitate and immediately jumped on the bird with Deidara. Madara looked over at the other members of Akatsuki who were shrouded in a huge fog of smoke. He flew after the Deidara pissed and tried to stop the escaping clay bird.

As he got close, Deidara threw every single bomb he had at once causing Madara to fade back from the blast as the escapees flew off into the distance. After the smoke passed, Madara walked over towards his conscious minions and began to yell, "TELL ME WHY THE FUCK DEIDARA JUST TOOK THREE JINCHUURIKI WITH HIM AND NONE OF YOU WORTHLESS FUCKS TRIED TO STOP HIM!"

Madara's anger was terrifying his subordinates as he paced angrily looking at them in disgust, "Sasori! Kakuzu! Explain to me how the green haired girl got out of your grasp?" The puppet master and Kakuzu shook their heads in disbelief, "Deidara dropped some crazy bomb and I couldn't see a thing…next thing we know the girl's gone." Kakuzu said annoyed. Konan shook her head in irritation and glared at Madara, "Why did you have to go and piss Naruto off Madara! I was talking him down! I mean telling him you killed his mother? For fuck's sake!"

"Be silent, Konan! I don't want to hear anymore from you…be thankful that you chose to remain loyal to me otherwise you would be dead right now." Madara stated angrily. Shizune looked at Itachi and Kisame and spoke urgently, "They look pretty fucked up…I am going to go heal those two." Madara shook his head in annoyance, "Whatever…Deidara of all people. I can't even believe this…"

Hidan started laughing as he looked around the crater that formed in the valley, "Looks like they're gonna have to start calling this place the Crater of the End." Madara face palmed at the man, "I will be sitting under the remnants of my statue…don't disturb me until Itachi and Kisame are conscious. Zetsu…I want you to go find them." The plant man bowed as Madara began to walk away, "As you wish master."

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Meanwhile, Naruto, Deidara, Fu, and Yugito were flying high speed away from the valley east. Naruto was catching his breath after the insane battle and looked at Deidara perplexed, "Thanks for saving us…Deidara was it?" The blonde man nodded his head and replied, "Yeah no problem haha…the loudmouth blonde girl was easy to get, but I had some trouble picking up the little green haired one."

Yugito who was still tied up ironically began to shout at them, "What the fuck just happened back there? Who the hell are you people? Why were you fighting?" Naruto sighed and shook his head, "Babe…it's a long story." Yugito glared at Naruto fiercely, "I'm not your 'babe' asshole! I'm the Raikage's daughter I'll have you know!" Naruto looked at her completely unimpressed and yawned as he looked back over to Deidara, "So I'm curious…why are you helping me exactly?"

"Yeah, that was the world's most unexpected rescue," Fu added as she panted heavily. Deidara shrugged and shook his head, "Well for one, I think you're way cooler than those chumps back there…and two I would rather work for somebody like you than that asshat Madara. You remember him telling you about how they recruited me right?" Naruto nodded his head, "Yeah they said something about forced recruitment?"

"Yeah I lost a battle with Itachi that ended with me being forced into this organization un. I never really thought about leaving because I figured I would rather be on the winning side when Akatsuki takes over the world. Although after watching that battle, I'm convinced that I'm better off working for you…plus I appreciate your abstract art!" Deidara laughed.

"What kind of art is that?" Naruto asked. "My second favorite kind of art…handing Uchihas their asses to them!" Deidara shouted proudly. Naruto and Fu laughed and nodded their heads in agreement. "Well thanks a lot for the help back there…I'm not sure how I would have handled Madara." Naruto said as he looked into the distance. "I feel for you man…being related to an Uchiha must be a kick in the balls."

"Hey! Stop ignoring me!" Yugito shouted causing everybody to roll their eyes at the blonde woman. "What?" Deidara asked annoyed as he shook his head. "Take me to Kumogakure this instant! My father will need to hear about Akatsuki and call for a Kage meeting to stop them."

Naruto traded amused glances with Deidara and Fu and started laughing, "Hahahaha…no babe it doesn't work that way. You're my hostage, and you're coming with us." Yugito hissed at them angrily and started to squirm in her restraints, "If you bring me to my father there will be a reward…I'm sure he'll pardon you guys!"

Deidara shook his head and sighed, "Maybe I should have left her with them…" Fu nodded in agreement, "You wouldn't have heard any complaints from me." Yugito was rocking back and forth and nearly fell off the bird before Naruto caught her. He glared at her, "What are you trying to do? Kill yourself?"

Naruto was holding the restrained woman in his lap and shook his head as she continued to squirm, "Give it up Yugito…you're coming with us. You'll be a lot safer with me anyways." Yugito began to blush madly as Naruto held her bridal style in his lap and stared at her. "Please stop looking at me like that…" she said nervously as Naruto gazed into her eyes. "Like what?" Naruto teased making Deidara laugh.

"Got anywhere you want to go boss?" Deidara asked. Naruto thought for a moment and shrugged, "I don't know…I really need to regroup with my followers."

"My advice is that we go for Kirigakure…the Mizukage is a jinchuuriki and we should probably get to him before Akatsuki does." Deidara suggested. "Sounds like a plan to me…" Naruto agreed as the bird flew southeast towards Kiri.

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OH MY GOD! That was the longest chapter I have ever written…I apologize if it was a tough read but I didn't feel like splitting it up because that would have been an asshole move.

**Anyways here's my personal notes for this chapter:**

There was a lot of fucking action in this chapter…I will honestly have my feelings hurt if somebody dislikes it because I worked my ass off to pull this one together. But yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed the Zabuza Haku VS Mei thing…that was a juicy bit there.

The Akatsuki fight was incredibly difficult to write…I honestly don't know if I did it well enough or what. I never realized how hard it was to write a damn free for all with ten plus people. I know some of you wanted to see Madara in action, but that will come later…

I smell conflict brewing with Yagura…that will be a major part of next chapter. How will our notorious gang react when Naruto himself shows up with two other jinchuuriki to abduct Yagura? You'll have to wait and see!

The Orochimaru stuff will get interesting soon enough…as well as Sasuke's role in the story. Forgive me for not putting Anko and Guren in this chapter…I had a lot of stuff to cover with Akatsuki and the Kiri conflict.

I want to know in all honesty…were you surprised when Deidara ended up turning on Madara? I left subtle clues there but I don't know how obvious I was about it.

Well anyways that's all for this chapter…don't expect another one for two weeks or so. This one almost counts as two anyways. LOL well thanks for reading. Love ya!


	12. Chapter 12

Wow…I wasn't expecting so much positive feedback on chapter 11. I sincerely appreciate the reviews. Yeah here's some reviews I felt like replying to:

**Akabara-Sama:** First of all, thanks for the review. Anyways, I wanted to address one of your questions so that everyone would understand Naruto's Rinnegan. He still hasn't mastered it as you have no doubt seen. However, in recent chapters he has unlocked a lot more of its powers. As you might have noticed, he becomes more powerful the longer he fights somebody. His first fight with Kisame and Itachi, his battle with Konan, and finally his fight in the Valley of the End. I don't want to spoil anything for you so I'll just let you speculate what might happen.

**Shinobi Swizzy: **Feel free to leave as much commentary as you want. Longer reviews are better anyways (Virtual high five)

**TheDestroyer100**: You're really going to like Sasuke in the next few chapters.

**Everyone: **Something else I wanted to point out is Naruto's battle with Konan. Some people were bothered by the fact that he underestimated Konan and ended up nearly getting killed. The main point of that is to teach him a lesson.

Ultimately, Naruto is still himself despite becoming "bad." Even though he has amazing bloodlines and powers, he's still human and makes mistakes. I mean look at Madara in canon…he nearly got killed by Konan for underestimating her. Not to mention…this story would bore the shit out of everybody (**Including me**) if Naruto was instantly All-Powerful and crushed every single threat he came across in ten seconds. Naruto will be insanely badass later on. Trust me…the rise to power is not only more realistic, but it will make it so much more enjoyable in the end.

Sorry this took so long. I had it done a while ago, but I had browsing issues and was unable to access my story edit page for the past week. Anyways here's the long awaited chapter 12.

**Chapter 12: Tension**

Anko and Guren were quietly sneaking through the city village of Amegakure. Guren shook her head as she saw the bodies in the street. The massive battle waged merely weeks ago still scarred Ame. Debris was everywhere due to the collapse of many towers and buildings. Blood painted a large portion of the ground surrounding the bodies of Suna, Konoha, and Ame nin. Anko examined the sight and sighed, "All this…and nothing was even accomplished."

"This was completely necessary…the battle that happened here was inevitable," Guren stated plainly as she carelessly examined the bodies. Anko shook her head in disappointment, "Why was Ame even doing this in the first place?"

Guren shrugged and shook her head, "My guess is that Konan wanted to openly challenge the power of the Kages. It's actually a really good plan...it allows her to easily unify surrounding smaller nations against them. I was in Oto for the past few years before Naruto came, but while I was there, I managed to intercept some of the Ame spies."

"And? What did they doing?" Anko asked interested. The crystal user thought for a moment and answered, "They…were scouting the borders of Fire Country trying to find hidden routes to attack Fire Country so Konoha would have to fight a war on two fronts. We also discovered that Ame was going to try annexing us by force. Although for some reason, Konan avoided a lot of the western nations. From what Orochimaru told me, they were hellbent on destroying Iwa, Suna, and Konoha."

Anko reexamined the bodies and laughed, "They apparently didn't do a good job. I guess they figured since they warded off Iwa that they were invincible or something."

"Konan defeated Hanzo the Salamander…that makes her Kage level at the bare minimum. Your entire assault would have been wiped out if Naruto hadn't shown up to save you." Guren explained callously. The snake mistress rolled her eyes at Guren and laughed, "At least that proves he still cares about me!"

"Shut up…" Guren said irritated as she jumped onto a rooftop and headed towards the palace. Anko followed right after her with a proud smile on her face. As they made their way further into the village, the two women noticed many civilians leaving the palace. "What do you make of that?" Anko asked as she pointed to the large crowd exiting the entrance.

"If there's anyplace we're going to find out what happened, it's here." Guren said. The two women got in closer to the crowd and stealthily observed. From what they could make out, Ame's remaining shinobi forces were all guarding the palace and herding the civilians back outside. A slender brunette woman was standing at the entrance of the palace as the villagers exited the building returning to their homes. Unlike the other ame nin surrounding her, she was very unique looking. She wore a pink tube top with a open, light green shirt, navy blue pants

Anko looked at Guren and started to laugh, "Get a load of little miss important down there…" The crytal user silently nodded as they watched a masked jounin run up panting to the woman. He shook his head in disappointment and began to speak, "I apologize, Hisame-sama…we could find no trace of Lady Konan or Pein."

The brunette woman crossed her arms and smirked, "What the fuck do you mean there's no trace? I saw a fucking crater outside of the city!" The jounin fearfully nodded his head and replied, "Yes, but we have done multiple sweeps over the entire area and there's no trail or anything."

The woman walked behind the man and ran a hand across his back and silently whispered, "You're useless to me…you shame our village and the Lady Konan herself." The Jounin fell to his knees and nodded his head, "Hisame-sama, please allow me to continue my search…I believe that if the Lady Konan is alive, then she isn't in the country."

"No, Lady Konan ordered everybody to fall back when she learned about the Konoha attack. Ame is too vulnerable right now to let anyone go wandering the borders to get captured! If Konoha or Iwa caught you, than you would reveal Ame's secrets!"

"Hisame-sama! We have Taki shinobi here who claim to know what happened to Pein and Lady Konan!" An anbu captain interrupted as he lead a small group of Taki jounin up to the woman.

Anko and Guren watched intently. Hisame turned her head towards the captain and nodded as she waved the Taki nin closer, "You have news of our leader?"

A man walked up and bowed to the brunette and answered, "Yes, my lady…I bring a document from Takigakure that is deserving of your full attention." Hisame huffed irritated and snatched the document from the ambassador and began to read.

After a minute of silence, she looked up shocked at the Taki ambassador and began to laugh, "There's no way this is legitimate…you expect me to believe that Lady Konan signed an alliance treaty with you?" Anko gasped shocked at the news, while Guren only shook her head. "Konan is still alive…" Guren frowned at the news.

"How the fuck did that happen?" Anko demanded looking at Guren. As if answering her question, the Ambassador began to speak again, "I assure you that Pein and Konan have both signed that document as well as the council of elders from our village."

Hisame looked at the signatures and noticed Konan's azure seal on the charter. Several high ranking Ame nin began to look over the woman's shoulder curiously examining the document. "Hisame-sama, that's Konan's signature…nobody else uses a blue seal but her," The anbu captain convinced. Several murmurs of approval followed his statement before Hisame finally nodded in agreement.

"I won't go against the word of Lady Konan…and Pein," Hisame said as she handed the document back to the ambassador. He nodded his head respectfully and replied, "Pein and Konan left our village a little more than a week ago. However, they promised your aid against Iwagakure's planned invasion."

Hisame nodded her head and laughed, "Very well, when Lady Konan returns, we shall launch a counter assault and burn Iwa to the ground."

"Well that certainly makes things interesting…" Anko laughed as she glanced over at Guren.

"Why would Konan and Naruto be in Taki? None of this makes any sense," Guren commented as she shook her head.

Anko shrugged carelessly as the two women began to make their escape from the village, "We should get out of here before we get spotted."

"We have what we came for. Let's go back to Orochimaru's base. I just hope he hasn't discovered the others by now…" Guren said worried as they left the village.

XXXXXXX

Sasuke glanced around the dark cavern bored out of his mind as he Tayuya and Kimimaro casually sat around. "Those damn bitches are taking too fucking long…" Tayuya stated annoyed.

"It's not that bad. We could be watching Orochimaru do…whatever it is that he does." Sasuke replied. Kimimaro remained silent as he stared at his hands.

Tayuya looked over at him confused and asked, "Hey Kim, What's wrong?" Kimimaro didn't respond as he continued to stare at his hands. Sasuke examined the pale man empathetically, _'I know that look…he's feeling conflicted right now. I wonder if he's really on our side or not.'_

Tayuya shook her head and sighed, "Okay fine…be a pussy and don't answer me."

Kimimaro's heart was full of strong emotions at the moment. He was deep in thought as he remembered Orochimaru's rescue from when he was a child. He remembered the words that the Snake Sannin told him; they often haunted his every waking thought.

Out of nowhere, his mind wandered to a different image of Naruto standing over him powerfully with a hand extended. Kimimaro heard Naruto's words echo through his head as the image devoured his senses. '_I am going places others only dare to dream. My name shall be remembered for what I am doing. My legacy shall be written in stone and my power shall be felt even by the stars themselves…Stand with me Kimimaro and be a part of that legacy…let yourself become one of my champions…and see yourself remembered for all time.'_ The words Naruto spoke to him ran through his mind constantly.

Kimimaro drifted deeper in thought as he imagined himself standing over the ruins of a great battle. Kimimaro noticed the bodies to be that of his own clan and Kiri shinobi. Kimimaro looked around shocked at the sight as he began to relive the memories of the battle. He looked at his hands covered in blood and shook his head in disbelief at the corpses piled around him. He remembered the sight of seeing a young child...younger than himself cowering in fear as he approached. The child yelled at him as he ran away, _'STAY AWAY MONSTER!_'

Kimimaro shook his head as he ran away and heard the voice of Orochimaru calling out to him, 'Come here child...Kimimaro...Kimimaro! KIMIMARO!" Suddenly, the white haired man was brought from his flashback vision.

"KIMIMARO! Snap out of it!" Tayuya shouted annoyed bringing the white haired man from his thoughts. He looked up in confusion as Sasuke and Tayuya stared at him concerned.

"What is it, Tayuya?" he asked distressed. The red head crossed her arms, "You were drifting off there...you okay?" The snow haired shinobi stood up and began to walk away.

"I…need some air," Kimimaro announced as he continued walking. Sasuke stood up and began to follow him, "Wait! Let me come with you."

"Why? I need to be alone right now…we can talk later Sasuke." Kimimaro said without turning around. "Ugh, forget him, Sasuke. The powdered pussy needs his alone time…have fun brooding, Kimmy!" Tayuya laughed.

Sasuke turned around and sat down next to the red head again and sighed, "So…what do you make of that?"

Tayuya shrugged carelessly and leaned back against the wall, "He's always like that. Even back when we were the sound five, he would always want to be by himself. My guess is that he went to train or cut his wrists or something like that."

An awkward silence passed between the two before Sasuke spoke up, "So yeah...I haven't really seen you guys since I tried to leave Konoha. The rest of the Sound Five is dead right?"

"They're dead...I got over it; I'm just glad Kimimaro was still alive. He's probably my only real friend," Tayuya sighed.

Sasuke shook his head, "Kimimaro doesn't look so good...I'm surprised he isn't dead considering how much blood he's been coughing up lately."

"Stop making me all emotional asshole..." Tayuya laughed as she stood up. "You should go check on Kimmy if you are that concerned about him. I'm going to get something to eat."

"Yeah, I'll do that...I'm getting rather sick of sitting around," Sasuke replied as he stood up again.

"Yeah, Orochimaru is somewhere in the village doing...whatever. We should probably find out what he's doing." Tayuya mentioned as they began to leave the base.

XXXXXXX

Madara was sitting next to the demolished Cliffside near the ruins of his statue. He was quietly reading a certain book intently as the minions of Akatsuki were gathering around him. Shizune sat directly next to the Uchiha reading over his shoulder the best she could while the others were a considerable distance away sitting around a fire.

Kisame and Itachi were both conscious and relatively okay. Although the shark nin was in much better condition due to his impressive healing abilities. Itachi was covered in bruises and cuts, many of which were slightly severe looking. Hidan twirled his scythe around pissed as he repaired the cable on it.

"I can't believe that blonde faggot had the balls to turn on us!" Hidan shouted annoyed. Kisame remained silent as he rewrapped Samehada. "His betrayal is completely unsurprising…" Itachi said as he stared into the fire.

"We lost the damn girl…what a complete fucking waste!" Kakuzu added. "Which girl? Deidara or that other blonde bitch?" Hidan asked amused.

"Deidara's loss is a major blow to Akatsuki…he is far more dependable than you are Hidan," Sasori said as he thought about his partner. Hidan shook his head and laughed, "We're all so sorry that your girlfriend ditched you Sasori...no wait wasn't Deidara Kisame's girlfriend?"

The shark nin shook his head and laughed, "Is this your way of telling us how much you like Deidara? I can understand your jealousy...you gotta be paired up with Mr. Serious talking about his budget all the time."

"Umm...Fuck you, Kisame. Shouldn't you be splashing around in your own piss or something?" Hidan shot back.

Sasori looked over at Madara who was ignoring the group. He shook his head as he looked over to the Konan, "So Konan…you were with Naruto for a few weeks. What exactly happened between you two?"

The azure haired beauty emotionlessly shrugged her head, "After our battle we woke up in Taki...we were apparently discovered unconcious. We were restrained when we woke. After breaking free, we took over the village. Taki apparently wanted my protection from Iwa. Afterwards, I brought Naruto here and hoped he would side with us. He is incredibly powerful as you have no doubt seen."

Shizune caught wind of the conversation and decided to sit down next to Konan. The brunette medic nin was smirking at Konan as she glared. "You seemed pretty determined for him to join...maybe there's something going on that you want to tell us about?"

"Is there something you need bitch?" Konan asked irritably. Shizune continued beaming and nodded in response, "If I didn't know any better…I'd say you have a dirty little crush on Naruto."

The members of Akatsuki excluding Madara all perked up at the suggestion staring at Konan. "Keep your assumptions to yourself!" Konan said angrily. Kisame raised a brow at Itachi. The Uchiha shook his head at the shark nin as Shizune began to arrogantly prance around Konan making kissing noises.

"You're going to die!" Konan hissed as she stood up formed a paper sword from her arm. "Damn…I don't know about you guys, but I love the new Konan!" Hidan laughed as he elbowed Kakuzu. The masked nin sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"Konan, sit down!" Madara ordered as he walked back over to the group. "or what?" she asked emotionlessly.

"That's enough out of you! Stand down or you'll die!" Madara demanded darkly causing the others to raise their brows slightly worried. Konan reluctantly sat down and continued glaring at Shizune who was laughing at her. Madara turned to the medic nin and glared, "This isn't the time for your childish gossiping, Shizune. Sit down now!" The brunette followed his command without question.

Madara began to pace around the group as he ran a hand through his hair, "I wasn't expecting Deidara to betray us…his actions will not go unpunished. I intend to flay him alive. I want all of you to get this through your thick skulls now. Betrayal will not be tolerated!" The Uchiha focused his gaze on Konan and Itachi.

Madara's stare lingered on Itachi as he continued, "I have been too lenient with you...all of you. It's time for us to get serious. You're all going to capture the jinchuuriki...or die trying. Failure will result in your death."

"I assume you have some kind of plan to get them back from Naruto?" Sasori asked.

"Of course, Sasori…the way I've got it figured, Naruto will probably start to gather jinchuuriki now that he knows about my plan. The best course of action is to let him do the hard work for us…Seeing as how he has the seven tails and the two tails, I assume he will go after others to keep them from us." Madara continued.

"How can we be sure of which one he's going for next?" Kakuzu asked. Before Madara could answer, Sasori cut in, "Since he's got Deidara with him, I assume that they will go after the high priority targets first…seeing as how they flew east, I'm guessing they're going to go after Yagura."

"That seems very likely," Madara agreed as he placed a hand on the puppet master's shoulder. "Even now you avoid direct confrontation with him…" Itachi said quietly. Kisame remained silent with a distant look on his face as he finally finished wrapping his sword. Madara glanced over at Itachi and glared, "Is there something you want to say, Itachi?"

The younger Uchiha shook his head emotionlessly, "No."

"That's what I thought..." Madara smirked.

"You are a fucking pussy!" Hidan laughed at Itachi.

"Says the guy who got stabbed three dozen times by some little Taki bitch." Kakuzu commented.

"Hey Kakuzu…eat a dick!" Hidan responded amused.

"Shut up Hidan! Here's the new plan…since Naruto is looking for jinchuuriki too, it is only inevitable that he will acquire several of the others. The way I see it, if we capture several, he will be forced to confront us again. Itachi and Kisame, you two are going to capture the eight tails by any means necessary. I don't care if you burn Kumogakure to the ground in the process…just get it done!" Madara demanded.

"Killer Bee is a formidable opponent…don't expect immediate results," Itachi replied disrespectfully. The others looked shocked at Itachi's disrespect and turned to look at Madara. The older Uchiha rolled his eyes, "This is your last chance…if you two fuck this up than I'll murder you both!"

Kisame and Itachi silently nodded their heads before Madara began to speak again. "Alright, as for the rest of you…Hidan, Kakuzu, and Shizune, you three are going to go to Ame with Konan. The four of you are tasked with capturing the four and five tailed jinchuurikis."

"Oh fuck no…I'm sick of Earth Country!" Hidan shouted annoyed. "Who's in charge?" Shizune asked as she looked over at Konan. Madara shook his head in amusement and answered, "Who do you think? Obviously, Konan is in charge…be a good girl and do what she says, Shizune."

"What? Why do I have to go with her? Can't I go with somebody else!" Shizune was interrupted by Madara, "Are you disobeying me, Shizune? I would hate if you had to suffer the same fate as my other informants."

"N-No…I-I would n-never do such a thing…." Shizune stuttered.

"Sasori…you and I are going to capture the Kazekage. Also, one more thing I wanted to say...if any of you see Zetsu, tell him to bring me Orochimaru. You're all dismissed; when you've captured your targets we shall reconvene in Amegakure. Understood?" Madara demanded.

Unanimous nods followed the orders as everyone began to set out in different directions.

XXXXXXX

Shizune shook her head in anger as she glared daggers in the back of Konan's head. Hidan walked next to the blue haired woman and flashed her a smile, "So, bitch…I heard you were like some kind of empress." Kakuzu face palmed at Hidan.

"Yes, I am the ruler of Amegakure...my village has direct control over Kusagakure, Tanigakure, and now Takigakure…" Konan stated plainly. Shizune glared angrily at the blue haired woman as they progressed. "So that means you're rich?" Kakuzu asked genuinely interested.

"I guess you could say that…I've made my country wealthy and powerful by conquering the surrounding nations and villages. Ame is where the bulk of my forces are, but I have outposts in the conquered territories. They are surprisingly loyal, so I reward their loyalty by delegating some control of their own territories back to them. I could care less who's running the outlying villages...the only thing that matters is that they answer to Ame." Konan explained casually.

Kakuzu nodded his head and smiled underneath his mask, "That's a commendable accomplishment...and all in the course of three years. How did you take over Ame though?" he questioned.

Konan turned to him with a blank stare, "I killed Hanzo in front of his men. They instantly surrendered to me, and I took the opportunity to seize his vacant throne."

"How did you kill Hanzo?" Shizune asked curiously. Hidan nodded his head and added, "Yeah seriously...I heard he was a fucking badass."

"It doesn't matter...he's dead now so there is no point in telling you how I destroyed him. Hanzo recieved what he deserved. He was a pitiful coward and died like a bitch," Konan stated plainly.

"I think Konan converted to Jashinism when she was away...hahaha," Hidan cheered he pat Konan on the back. "Just another woman that can kick your ass eh, Hidan?" Kakuzu laughed at the silver haired priest causing him to growl, "FUCK OFF you string bitch douche bag!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to face the wrath of Jashin-chan," Kakuzu laughed again causing Hidan to boil in anger.

"You god damn piece of shit! Fuck you! I'm going to piss on all of your money, then I'm going to burn it, and once it's a steaming pile of ash I'm going to fucking eat it and shit it out over your fucking grave!" Hidan shouted furiously. Konan shot a dark glare towards the priest and shook her head, "Be quiet Hidan."

Hidan growled in irritation, "Fuck you people..."

An awkward silence passed before Shizune asked, "Is it always like this?" Kakuzu nodded his head, "Normally it's much worse…I typically have to try and kill him a few times before he shuts up."

XXXXXXX

Over with Itachi and Kisame the two walked slowly along a road with distant looks marking their features. '_Naruto is far more powerful than I originally estimated…Madara is being reckless._' Itachi thought.

Kisame's mind wandered along a similar path as he stared at the ground quietly walking, '_So Madara tried to recombine the bloodlines. This whole thing seems unreal to me. I wonder how Madara plans on defeating him?_'

After a while of silent wandering, Itachi finally broke the silence, "He's growing more and more powerful by the day…by the time we gather all of the jinchuuriki, Madara himself won't stand a chance against him," Itachi stated plainly.

Kisame shook his head, "That fight got out of hand…Madara would have stopped him if Deidara didn't blow up half the valley to cover their escape."

"Madara certainly didn't take him very seriously…it wouldn't surprise me if he did all that just so Naruto would gather the jinchuuriki for him." Itachi sighed.

"I don't try to understand him...obviously he isn't telling us everything, but that is to be expected." Kisame noted.

"Madara's demeanor is unpredictable...I mean he must have expected that Naruto would reject him...especially since he knows the truth now. What was the point of all this?" the Uchiha asked.

"Who knows...all I can say is I eagerly await the day the two of them face each other in combat…" Kisame smirked.

"We'll see how this plays out...we might not even survive to see it. At any rate, I suggest we apprehend some people and find out where Killer Bee is," Itachi changed the subject. Kisame nodded his head in approval, "Kumo is going to have heavy patrols looking for the girl."

"Hopefully, one of them knows where Killer Bee is," Itachi agreed. Kisame nodded his head, "Well let's go hunting then."

As they continued walking, Kisame shook his head and sighed, "What was up with Konan? She seemed different."

Itachi shrugged, "Her behavior seemed very strange. I am uncertain if Shizune's accusations are true, but Konan has undeniably been affected by Naruto's influence...so has Deidara it seems." There was an awkward silence before Kisame spoke up again, "You think she's going to betray Akatsuki?"

Itachi shook his head, "I'm honestly not sure...if she was going to betray us, she would have done so when Deidara did."

Kisame shook his head, "I'm getting sick of all this betrayal bullshit and lying..."

XXXXXXX

Madara and Sasori traveled together in pure silence. The puppet master occasionally glanced over at his leader as they wandered through Fire Country. As if out of nowhere, Sasori looked over and asked, "So tell me a little more about your daughter…"

Madara looked over and shook his head, "No."

"What's her name again? and who was the mother?" Sasori asked. Another awkward silence filled the air.

"So you had a child with one of Hashirama's daughters?" Sasori asked out of nowhere again catching Madara by surprise.

"My deceased wife is none of your concern!" Madara stated. Sasori looked interested and asked, "Your wife? So got married to her? A senju?"

"This conversation is over…we will never again speak of this." Madara said angrily as he glared at the puppet master.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, on a massive clay bird flying over the ocean, Naruto was staring off into the distance watching the sun rise. His thoughts wandered to the identity of his father and he just shook his head at the irony, '_Sorry dad…if I had known the truth, things might have been different. I just can't believe my greatest role model as a kid turns out to be my own father…FUCK!_'

"**Get over it…this is no time to second guess yourself!" **Kyuubi growled. '_Why didn't you fucking tell me you damn fox! You knew this whole time…and you said nothing…why?_!'

"**I know you all too well…you wouldn't have left if I told you the truth. You would be sucking up to some civilian bitch council and wasting your potential if it wasn't for me! NEVER FORGET THAT YOU UNGRATEFUL KIT!"**

_'What about my mother…I want answers now Kyuubi!' _

"**Your mother was my previous host…There are reasons I didn't tell you. I saw no reason to give you false direction at that point in your life. It would have distracted you from becoming powerful. I learn from my mistakes. I rushed Kushina and she ended up cutting me off out of fear…but you I took my time with so that you would understand that I am not your enemy…I am your greatest ally."**

Naruto sighed inwardly and replied, '_After the years of lying to me I am seriously starting to doubt that…'_

"**Believe what you will…you can't deny that I am responsible for your rise to power and I have saved your life more times than you can count. When you've gotten over this little hissy fit we'll talk again later."**

A voice brought Naruto from his thoughts, "So, Naruto, I've been meaning to ask you this…" Deidara began speaking. Naruto focused his attention on the blonde man and nodded, "What's up, Deidara?"

The blonde man sighed as he shook his head, "I just wanted to know why you rejected Akatsuki…I mean I was almost positive that you were going to join."

Naruto shrugged as he answered, "Madara is responsible for a lot of my problems…I bare no kinship to him. I refuse to serve the man who killed my own mother."

Deidara nodded his head and replied, "Yeah you said all that…it just seems like there is more to it than that."

"I suppose there is…I don't trust Madara. He is obviously lying about why he wants jinchuuriki," Naruto said as he shook his head.

Yugito who was still bound in Naruto's lap looked at him curiously, "So you're Naruto huh? I heard my father mention that name a few years ago. He said something about Konoha's jinchuuriki going missing."

Deidara gave an annoyed glance at the blonde woman and coughed, "Thanks for interrupting our conversation bimbo…it would be great if the girl would be quiet un."

"HEY I'm not a bimbo!" Yugito shouted which woke up a sleeping mint haired girl. "Why did you rescue the girl again Deidara?" Fu asked as she looked over at Deidara. The blonde man shrugged carelessly before Yugito began to rant again, "STOP INSULTING ME! All I did was ask one fucking question!"

"Yes, I am Naruto…most people know me as Pein. I am the container of Kyuubi," Naruto confirmed causing Yugito to calm down.

"Anyways…back to what I was saying before the girl interrupted," Deidara continued, "You're nothing like I thought you'd be. When I first heard about you having the Rinnegan, I assumed you were just another arrogant prick like Itachi…but I was wrong."

Naruto shook his head, "I try not to be like that…I was a pariah in my village and I was the dead last back when I went to the academy. I never did care for people with prestigious bloodlines or fancy clans because they act superior to everyone else. I didn't even develop my Rinnegan until after I left the village. Seems kind of Ironic since I am a direct descendant of several powerful clans."

Deidara nodded his head in approval, "I've heard some crazy rumors about you over the past few years. Rumors about how Pein the Invincible blew up entire villages and ran over anybody who got in your way hm. Although what really convinced me to like you is when you kicked Itachi's ass…that arrogant fucker deserves it un."

"You really don't like Itachi huh?" Naruto asked. Dediara nodded his head, "I hate his eyes…I want to rip them out and blow them up. The way they blankly stared at me as if dismissing my art!"

"So your bombs are your art right? You left a pretty badass explosion to cover our escape…how do you do that anyways?" Naruto asked enthusiastically.

Deidara burst into a proud grin, "You appreciate my art hm? Very well, I shall tell you about how my art came to be. Before I left Iwa, I was a pupil of Onoki, the Tsuchikage, and I was in the Explosion Corps. If you haven't heard, the group consisted of elite Iwa nin who had my specific bloodline, the explosion release."

"I honestly don't know much about Iwa. Still though, I have heard about explosion release…they say it's very rare." Naruto commented. The blonde man agreed as he ran his hand over his bang, "Yes, unlike other bloodlines, it isn't always genetic. My parents weren't even ninja, but I developed it. I was in my graduating year at the academy when I found out about it…up until that point I was pretty much a nobody hm."

"So that's how you ended up in the Explosion Corps?" Naruto asked curiously. Deidara nodded his head and laughed, "Well sort of…I kind of blew this guy up one day at the academy. Everyone was pretty upset about it, and the next thing I know, Anbu showed up to bring me to some training facility."

Naruto laughed at Deidara's answer, "Hahaha sounds like the guy deserved it."

"Oh he did…he was some dick head in this high and mighty clan who everybody fawned over. This prick thought he was so cool…Bastard always called me a girl which pissed me off. So one day, I blew him up in an artistic display of rage. I still remember the beautiful bang...His clan never really liked me much after that, but the Explosion Corps is held in higher regard than any clan, so they couldn't do shit." Deidara chuckled.

"So tell me about the clay…how does that coincide with your bloodline?" Naruto asked. The blonde man laughed, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. Anyways, I was extremely good at killing people and blowing stuff up…after five years, the Tsuchikage noticed my art and requested me to be his pupil. Hell I probably would have even been his successor. I was on really good terms with my old master, Onoki."

Naruto cocked his head in confusion, "If you were on such good terms with the Tsuchikage how did you end up becoming a missing nin? Is it because of the clay?"

"Yeah, I was getting to that…I stole a forbidden Kinjutsu from the village which pissed everybody off. It allowed me to knead chakra into materials. Since I was part of the Explosion Corps and a recreational sculptor, I combined the clay with my bloodline." Deidara explained thoroughly.

"There's a reason things are forbidden in the first place, so lunatics like you can't hurt anyone!" Yugito shouted at Deidara. The blonde glared at the woman and shook his head, "I didn't do it for power if that's what you're saying…I sought to perfect my art."

"How is blowing shit up art?" Yugito demanded fiercely causing Naruto to face palm. Deidara angrily answered, "Life is transient and fleeting…like an explosion. It is the most overwhelming thing you can experience before it's gone. Every time I blow something up, I see life for what it truly is…it gives me a feeling of completion. You can't dismiss the artistic nature of life itself!"

"Whatever freak show. Oh, and by the way, YOU DO LOOK LIKE A GIRL!" Yugito taunted causing Deidara's eye to twitch. He reached into his pouch and began to sculpt clay with his hands, "How's about I show you how beautiful dying in an explosion is un!"

Yugito saw the mouths on Deidara's hands and shrieked in horror, "WHAT THE HELL! Why are there mouths on your hands?"

Naruto looked at them curiously and asked, "So that Kinjutsu had a side effect huh?"

Deidara nodded his head, "Yeah, they developed on my hands. I also have one on my chest. I use them to sculpt my exploding clay."

"That's fucking cool!" Fu commented out of nowhere causing everyone to turn towards the mint haired girl. "There's nothing cool about it…I'm surrounded by freak shows," Yugito said disgusted.

"How can you even say that? Aren't you a jinchuuriki?" Fu asked. Naruto nodded at the question and added, "Yeah, I am surprised that a jinchuuriki of all people would call somebody a freak show."

"Fuck you people…you don't know anything about me!" Yugito shouted. Fu rolled her eyes and looked over to Naruto, "We're wasting our time with her…she's just going to betray us the first chance she gets…just like that blue haired bitch."

"Konan isn't a bitch…she's a true artist," Deidara said focusing his attention on Fu. "Yeah she is a bitch…has to fucking hog Naruto half the damn night and…" Everyone's eyes shot open in shock at Fu's response. Deidara began to laugh and looked over at Naruto, "You banged Konan? Sounds like a sexplosion un!"

"Was that pun intended girly man?" Yugito asked Deidara. He flipped her off.

"The girl needs a gag…" Dediara laughed. Fu nodded in agreement, "Yeah the girl is starting to get on my nerves."

"About Konan…Well…yeah I did. After our battle, she was acting really weird and gave me this sob story about how she wanted to serve me. I ended up spending the following night with Konan and Fu. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised seeing as how she led me into a trap." Naruto explained.

"Serves your right! Only an idiot would trust Konan…" Yugito commented smugly.

"Well for what it's worth, I'm sorry that happened to you. I know for a fact that Konan is a blunt person. Betrayal doesn't really seem to suit her," Deidara said. Naruto shrugged callously and looked away, "I guess I'm not really all that surprised…she isn't the first person who has betrayed me."

"I would never betray you." Fu stated plainly as she scooted closer to Naruto. Deidara flipped his bang and smiled, "At any rate, we need to discuss how we're going to capture Yagura. Madara's intelligence claims that the village is a fortress."

"Don't you worry about that…Yagura will be a walk in the park compared to that battle we just had."

"I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see you!" Deidara laughed. "What about the girl?" Fu asked as she looked over at Yugito and glared. "My name is Yugito Nii, Damn it! Stop calling me 'the girl!'"

Naruto looked at Fu and smirked, "I'll trust you to handle the girl, Fu…don't let her escape."

XXXXXXX

Zabuza, Mei, and Haku walked through the gates of Kirigakure. As they passed numerous civilians, a massive mob of jounin began to surround them. Everyone was looking horrified at the sight of Mei assisting Zabuza and Haku.

Zabuza looked around at the army of Kiri nin and began to shout, "Yagura! Stop hiding behind your men! There is no escape now! We're finally here to kill you!"

His threat caused every surrounding shinobi to back off in fear. Mei added to Zabuza's challenge, "Your persecution of bloodlines ends today, YAGURA!"

Answering their calls, a huge earthshaking thump rumbled throughout the village. Exiting the Kage tower, a lone figure walked past the fleeing shinobi with a fearless angry look on his face. Yagura's eyes were glowing green as he approached the trio. All of the civilians and shinobi cowered in fear as Yagura began to speak, "So, it has finally come to this! You would bring open warfare to the heart of MY VILLAGE!"

Zabuza angrily stared the man down and replied, "I have come to end your terrible reign you tyrant! Your betrayal shall be paid in your death!"

Yagura looked at Mei and shook his head in despair, "No…I didn't want this for you, Mei. You can't turn against me like this!"

"Yagura-sama, what's wrong with you? Why are your eyes glowing green?" Mei demanded shocked as a green cloak of chakra surrounded the Mizukage. "I am a jinchuuriki! I am the weapon of this village! The last line of defense!"

Mei shook her head emotionally, "Why did you kill my clan, Yagura-sama! I trusted you for all these years…believing Zabuza to be the villain you portrayed him to be, but it was you! You killed my clan!"

Yagura shook his head and looked down in shame, "I've done many things that I am not proud of…your clan tried to usurp me. They claimed that a monster like me had no right to be the Mizukage. I murdered all of them to protect the village. The other clans saw it as an act of oppression and turned against me causing a civil war. I ordered the purge of all bloodlines after that. I'm sorry Mei, but not everything is as simple as right and wrong!"

"I can't believe this…after all you've done, the only justification you can offer is that you defended yourself?" Mei shouted.

Haku shook her head and looked at Zabuza, "I don't know about this Zabuza…I had no idea about all of that. Do you really want to kill him over something he has no control over?" The masked swordsman shook his head and sighed, "Whatever the reasons, your actions demand retribution, Yagura!"

Looking around at the terrified villagers Yagura started to run away. "What the hell? Where is he going?" Haku asked confused as the three nin chased him down. Yagura continued to run at high speed until he was a considerable distance away from Kiri. Finally, he stopped as he stood upon the water and turned around to face his pursuers.

"My people have already suffered enough because of this…I would not see anyone else harmed. If you wish me dead than so be it…here's your chance!" Yagura announced as his chakra cloak began to intensify.

"You're finally going to die!" Zabuza shouted angrily at the man as he drew his sword. Mei followed suit and drew Aurorafang off her back.

"**I AM KIRIGAKURE! I won't let it fall to you!" **Yagura's demonic voice resonated powerfully as the three shinobi surrounded him.

Three large green tails began to form and took a scaly shape as they wildly thrashed about in the water.

Zabuza dashed towards the Mizukage with his sword and cleaved only to have it blocked by one of the scaled tails, The tail wrapped around Zabuza's sword and began to pull it from him holding the swordsman in place.

Mei rushed Yagura's blind side with Aurorafang but had another tail grip the weapon and pull. Yagura twisted the two shinobi and threw them both. Haku fired an ice beam at the jinchuuriki and began to channel it powerfully as she walked closer towards Yagura.

Mei did a twisting flip slicing Yagura's entire side as he was frozen in place. His chakra cloak glowed furiously and he burst from the ice. Mei watched in shock as his wounds began to heal. Zabuza made a wave and rode it towards the Kage with his glowing sword but was shocked as a massive fountain of water erupted from beneath Yagura. The Kage rose with the ascending spouts and began to speak, **"You still have so much to learn, Zabuza! You seem to forget that I taught you everything you know!"**

Haku began to freeze the fountain, but was shocked as the ice began to glow green and shatter. Mei launched a blanket of lava over the Mizukage but found it ineffective as he summoned a wall of water over his tails to block the attack. The water began to glow green with Yagura's cloak causing the three shinobi to trade worried glances as Yagura went through several handseals,

"Suiton: Goshuku Zame!"

Five collosal chakra sharks began to assail the trio. Zabuza managed to ward the entities off with his cyclones but was relentlessly pushed back as they swam against the current. Mei fired a massive pillar of lava from her sword at Yagura who merely blocked the attack with one of his tails again.

"Haku use the ice mirrors!" Zabuza shouted at the ice user. Haku went through several hand seals and shouted, "Makyō Hyōshō!" (Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors) A large dome of mirrors surrounded Yagura and Haku appeared in all of them.

Yagura looked around confused before attempting to smash the mirrors with his tails. Before he could do so, the mirrors began to rotate around him and beams of ice launched from each one. Yagura along with his fountain of water was completely frozen over by the attack. Mei added to it by firing a wave of lava at the frozen kage which began to solidify into stone as the two elements continually blasted him.

It didn't last long however as a nova of chakra exploded blowing the lava and ice back. Yagura's skin began to harden and his tails grew three times in length. They reared back and pierced into Haku's mirrors individually shattering them much to the ice users surprise.

Yagura went through several hand seals and summoned dozens of massive chakra water dragons. The green chakra dragons furiously assaulted the trio as they repeatedly lunged at Zabuza. The swordsman couldn't hold off the sharks and dragons and was nearly overwhelmed before Mei covered them in magma.

Haku froze several of the attacking chakra dragons which were instantly shattered as Zabuza took advantage of their brittle state by crushing his sword against them. This continued until they were all gone. Yagura shook his head at the sight and roared, **"I've had enough of this! FACE THE LEVIATHAN!"**

Zabuza, Mei and Haku watched in shock as Yagura rose sky high on the pillar of water. He went through dozens of hand seals and slammed his arms against the fountain beneath his feet. The water began to spin rapidly into a massive cyclone. The trio traded disbelieving glances as the massive cyclone began to glow brighter and brighter.

Finally, it smashed down against the water leaving a massive tidal wave in its wake. Haku created an ice sphere to guard them as the blast came at them. After it subsided, the ice sphere rose above the water and exploded sending projectiles flying everywhere.

The three shinobi landed on the water and looked up in horror as they saw Yagura standing on the head of a colossal sea serpent. Yagura stabbed his tails through the creature's skull causing its entire body to glow green from his chakra cloak. "Holy shit!" Mei shouted horrified.

The monstrous sea serpent reared its head back and hissed loudly as it dove underwater. "Zabuza you didn't tell me he was this powerful!" Haku shouted horrified as the water began to twist violently. The swordsman shook his head in disbelief, "Yagura's a kage…what did you expect, Haku?"

"Not…this!" Haku shot back as the serpent burst from the water and launched magma from its mouth raining over the entire area. Mei launched a wave of lava to counter it, but it was overwhelmed as the lava began to glow green. Haku surrounded them with an massive ice wall to block the blast. Steam rose from the entire coastline as the lava and water mixed. Mei took advantage of it and condensed all of the steam towards the head of the serpent at Yagura.

The Leviathan hissed in agony as Mei pressurized the steam around its face. Zabuza took the opportunity to jump at the creature's throat and sliced into it. The serpent roared as it thrashed into the air and dove back underwater. Zabuza rode it as it descended into the water. He held his sword tight and began to twist into the beasts neck preventing it from healing. As the Leviathan burst from the water again, Haku froze the surrounding water catching the beast in place long enough for Zabuza to rear his blade back and completely decapitate the serpent with a massive wind imbued cleave from his sword.

The beast disappeared in a large puff of smoke leaving Yagura standing on the water facing the trio.

Mei shook her head as Yagura smashed his tails against the water causing more tidal waves to blast at them. Haku froze the water and rode the stream around Yagura as Mei and Zabuza rushed either side. Zabuza began to furiously berserk the jinchuuriki. Yagura parried every one of Zabuza's attacks with his tails much to the swordsman's annoyance. Mei launched a wave of lava from her mouth at Yagura point blank range causing him to roar in agony.

Taking advantage of the Mizukage's pain, Zabuza stabbed his blade through Yagura's chest. Yagura gripped the blade and grimaced in disbelief as Zabuza began to speak, "This was inevitable…go to hell Yagura!" From either side, the jinchuuriki was blasted with lava and ice as Zabuza jumped back with his sword in hand.

The conflicting elements caused the Mizukage to become enveloped in stone as he sank into the water. Everything was dead silent afterwards. After a moment, Zabuza looked over to Mei and Haku and sighed in relief, "It's finally over…I can't believe it!"

"This just seems so wrong to me…even now Yagura was protecting the village," Mei said sadly as she looked over at the village in the distance. Haku shook her head in confusion as she walked next to Mei, "So now what? What do we do about the village?"

Suddenly, a deep roar echoed from beneath the water. The trio looked down in horror as the water began to glow green again. Before they had a chance to react, three massive green chakra hands grabbed the three shinobi. They watched in horror as a massive creature emerged from the water. They were each individually held in a tail of the massive bijou.

"OH FUCK! He transformed into Sanbi!" Mei shouted horrified as the massive turtle gripped them tighter. Yagura began to swim towards the shore and threw the three shinobi from his tails' grips. They smashed onto the ground and watched horrified as the bijou began to channel a powerful ball of chakra from its mouth. Zabuza shouted in shock, "Oh fuck move!" However, before the blast fired, a massive explosion altered its direction causing the bijou ball to barely miss them as it blew up the entire Cliffside behind them.

Another massive explosion distracted Yagura from the trio as he tried to attack a massive bird overhead. Taking advantage of the situation, Mei and Zabuza launched a titanic vortex of lava and water at the jinchuuriki. As Yagura was twisting in the maelstrom, Haku froze Yagura in place. A third explosion completely enveloped Yagura weakening him momentarily.

Zabuza and Mei then jumped at the massive turtle's face and stabbed Yagura in the forehead simultaneously causing a massive explosion of chakra to resonate. The aftermath of the explosion left Zabuza, Haku, and Mei disoriented as they washed upon the shore. Looking up in the sky, Haku saw a giant white bird circling them. Zabuza and Mei on the other hand were distracted as they saw Yagura limping out of the shallow water in his human self.

His vision was hazy as he rose from his hands and knees, but before he could stand up, Zabuza stomped on his back causing him to crash back into the ground. He kicked him over and stared into the now normal eyes of the defeated Mizukage. Yagura blankly stared at the swordsman and sighed, "My village...I have failed you."

Zabuza shook his head angrily at the man as Mei walked over. She looked down at Yagura and spoke, "You were like a father to me…I trusted you all these years believing you were my savior…but I was wrong. You are responsible for everything!." Mei shook her head sadly.

"I am a monster Mei…you deserve revenge for your family." Yagura replied emotionlessly. Zabuza looked over to the red head and put a hand on her shoulder, "I think you should be the one to do it…"

She nodded her head at the swordsman and gripped her sword tighter.

Yagura sighed in defeat, "And so it ends in death…as I somehow always knew it would." Zabuza shook his head at the jinchuuriki and stomped on his face knocking him unconscious. Mei shook her head emotionally as she held the blade over the knocked out jinchuuriki, "I'm sorry Yagura…"

As she stabbed at Yagura's throat, a hand caught the blade. Mei looked up in surprise to see a tall muscular golden orange haired man with silvery purple eyes. She looked closely at him and dropped her weapon as she backed away, "You're...Pein!"

Zabuza and Haku looked shocked beyond belief. Haku ran towards the jinchuuriki and dove into him hugging furiously, "NARUTO, You're here!" Zabuza pulled his mask off and began to cheer at the sight of Naruto, "YOU'RE HERE? How?"

Naruto shook his head and sighed, "That's a long story…although the reason I came here was to talk to Yagura. I can't allow you to kill him." Zabuza's eyes shot open in disbelief as he shook his head, "What? Why? Don't you understand what this man has done to us? Do you know what we went through to fucking get here?"

"A lot has happened since I last saw you guys. I am gathering jinchuuriki. Since Yagura is the container for the three tails, I need him alive."

"NO! I didn't come this far just to see this coward live! He needs to die, Naruto!" Zabuza shouted angrily.

Naruto glared at the swordsman fiercely as his eyes began to glow, "Stand down Zabuza! Don't do something you're going to regret!"

The swordsman reluctantly backed off and grabbed his head in pain. A brief moment passed before Zabuza spoke, "Of course, Naruto…I know you must have a good reason for this."

Haku curiously began to question him, "So what happened with Konan? Did you kill her? And why did you take so long to find us?"

Brought from her interrogation, Haku noticed the entourage on the giant clay bird behind Naruto. Haku looked at him curiously and asked, "Friends of yours?"

"We need to get out of here. I can explain this once we're clear," Naruto said. Zabuza was glaring at the unconscious Mizukage darkly. Looking down at the fellow jinchuuriki, Naruto picked him up and threw the man over his shoulder.

"Okay first of all, who the hell is she?" Naruto asked as he looked at Mei skeptically. The red head stared at him awestruck and snapped out of her daze, "Ugh yeah sorry, I'm Mei Terumi, the Mizukage's apprentice."

Naruto looked towards Zabuza and Haku and shook his head, "Is she going to be a problem? I assume you know this woman."

"She's okay, Naruto…she did help us with Yagura after all," Zabuza explained. Haku huffed and crossed her arms, "She didn't betray us yet…"

"Alright, fine…she's coming with us. I don't want her snitching to these Kiri nin anyways. Everyone get on the bird, we can catch up right after we get out of here. This place is about to be swarming in jounin and Anbu." Mei reluctantly looked back at his village in the distance and said, "I can't leave..."

"I just saved your life from a bijou ball…Get on the fucking bird!" Naruto ordered. Mei reluctantly did as she was ordered. Zabuza and Haku obeyed Naruto without question.

Everyone jumped onto the bird shortly after as it began to take off.

As it got a reasonable distance away from the battlefield, Naruto looked around at everyone and began, "Alright, well I guess introductions are in order…this is Deidara, he's the Tsuchikage's former apprentice and a former member of Akatsuki. That green haired girl is Fu, she is the jinchuuriki of the seven tails. The blonde's name is…"

Naruto was cut off by Yugito, "I can speak for myself asshole! I am Yugito Nii and I am the Raikage's daughter. They are holding me hostage!" Zabuza raised a brow at the girl and shook his head in amusement.

"She is the jinchuuriki of the two tails." Naruto added.

"This is Zabuza and Haku…they are both my loyal followers," Naruto pointed towards the pair. Completely distracted by the situation, Mei completely forgot the situation with Yagura as she intently stared at Naruto. An indescribable smirk graced her face as she asked, "What about you Naruto? Or should I say Pein? Which one makes you feel more like a man?"

"We're not on a first name basis...don't use my real name," Naruto glanced over at Mei. She looked at him curiously and laughed, "Why? You don't want to find out a little more about me? I assure you that it could be quite...satifying."

Mei was staring at Naruto intently with a smile waiting for him to reply. He smirked back at her and laughed, "I don't need another fangirl...prove yourself useful to me and maybe we'll talk." Mei cocked her head amused and flirted back, "Well that's good. I'm not a fangirl...I'm an adventure-seeking woman. One who certainly takes 'pleasure' in the company of bad boys."

Fu shot a glare over towards Mei and huffed, "Get your own man...Naruto is taken." This comment caused Haku to glance over at the tan skinned woman curiously. "Naruto, we need more guys in our little group...I mean what is with this all female party you got following you?"

Deidara looked over at Haku and growled, "I happen to be a guy just in case you missed that...damn bitches hmm!" The Ice user shot a disbelieving look at the blonde man causing him to facepalm.

"I see how it's going to be...all of you girls think you're the bottom bitch around here eh?" Mei asked enthusiastically.

"Get in line whore…Naruto isn't the kind of person to sleep with some bitch he just met," Haku announced. Fu began to laugh causing everybody to look at her funny. "He sure rocked my world...all night long! Hahahaha!"

Haku looked at Fu and back over to Naruto and shook her head, "Why do you always attract the sluttly ones?"

Zabuza's mood began to lighten as he laughed loudly. He began to write away in his book amused. "For fuck's sake stop fawning over Mr. God Complex...he's arrogant enough as it is!" Yugito shouted.

"You feel like going for a swim in those chains?" Fu asked as she leered at the blonde. Naruto shook his head in amusement as he looked over towards Deidara, "We need to find a place to lay low for a while got any ideas?"

The blonde haired man nodded his head, "Yeah, we have an unused hideout near the borders of Lightning Country, I'll take us there."

"YOU KIDNAPPED THE MIZUKAGE!" Yugito shrieked as she finally noticed Yagura lying next to Naruto.

He casually nodded in response, "Yeah...didn't you hear us talk about it all day? Or were you too busy staring at me?" Naruto asked. Yugito blushed madly and looked away, "Don't flatter yourself you narcississtic jerk!"

"Sure thing Yugito...I'll just pretend that you haven't been staring at me all day," Naruto replied. Zabuza nodded his head cheerfully, "I forgot how much I missed you."

"I can't believe you're Pein…the notorious S class criminal responsible for all the destruction in the east. You seem so...well not as evil as I imagined." Mei said perplexed.

Naruto nodded his head, "It's rude to stare...what was your name again?"

Mei huffed at his attitude, "Mei...you'll be getting to know that name pretty well I assure you."

Haku cut into the conversation and began to interrogate Naruto again, "Seriously, what the hell happened with Konan? Also, how the hell did you end up on this jinchuuriki hunt?"

"Alright, here's what happened…" Naruto described the events in Takigakure minus a few sexual details and the encounter with Akatsuki. After his long explanation (Which I am honestly way too lazy to write…GOGO Imagination) Everyone just stared at him in disbelief. Mei scooted closer towards him and smiled, "So you really are a bad boy…sleeping with the enemy eh? That's hot!"

Zabuza shook his head confused, "Madara Uchiha…you're his grandson? I guess it all makes sense now. No wonder you are so powerful. Any child of Madara would have to be…although I thought Madara was dead? Didn't he live like a hundred years ago?"

Naruto sighed, "Yeah…and I'm apparently the great grandson of the first hokage and the son of the fourth hokage,"

"You mean you're the son of Konoha's Yellow Flash?" Mei asked impressed. Naruto shrugged and nodded his head, "I guess so…at least that's what they told me. I'm surprised I didn't find out sooner. Yondaime is my greatest role model. Or at least he used to be..."

Zabuza sighed as he looked at his leader, "Shit…so let me get this straight. You had sex with Konan and this…Fu woman, you learned your ancestry, and you got into a giant brawl with a bunch of Akatsuki bitches AND I WASN'T THERE TO SEE IT?"

"Half of that wouldn't have happened if I was there…" Haku muttered darkly.

Yugito looked at Naruto and shook her head, "You're despicable…If you truly seek jinchuuriki, I guarantee that my uncle wouldn't follow your psycho ass."

Zabuza looked at her curiously, "Who's your uncle?"

Deidara answered for him, "Her uncle is the Raikage's brother. Everyone calls him Killer Bee. He is the second most powerful jinchuuriki according to Kisame."

"I'm sure kicking his ass will change his mind…not to mention, he sounds like he can take care of himself for the time being." Naruto concluded.

"He won't follow some lunatic terrorists like you! He is completely loyal to Kumo!" Yugito stated smugly. Naruto looked confused and shook his head at the bound girl in his lap, "What the fuck is your problem?"

"You're my fucking problem! I don't want to be anywhere near you!" Yugito shot back. Deidara face palmed and Fu rolled her eyes and laughed, "Here we go again…"

Haku looked over at Fu and asked, "So she's been doing this all day?" The green haired girl looked over and sighed heavily, "Babe…you don't know the half of it."

"I've had enough of your whining, Yugito. You're coming with us whether you want to or not," Naruto sighed.

"Bite me asshole!" She yelled at him.

"Where?" Naruto asked amused causing Yugito to fluster in a fit. Afterwards she began to pout again.

Zabuza kept looking over at Yagura and shook his head as he quietly glared at the Mizukage, _'This changes nothing__ between us Yagura_…'

The Mizukage was lying unconscious next to Naruto separated from Zabuza and Mei. They would make occasional glares at the unconscious kage but decided to push aside their current issues. Naruto's mind wandered at the thought of his other companions before he asked, "What happened to Guren, Tayuya, and Kimimaro?"

"They are trying to take down Orochimaru…my guess is that they are in Kusagakure still," Haku answered.

"You're after Orochimaru? Damn…I wished I had met you sooner!" Mei exclaimed interested. The Rinnegan wielder nodded his head and answered, "Yes, I was after him for years, but he's the least of my problems now that I am an official enemy of Akatsuki."

Zabuza sighed at the thought of their other companions, "I hope they'll be okay…we should definitely go look for them if we get the chance."

"I was thinking the same thing. I trust the three of them can handle Orochimaru, but they don't know about Akatsuki…they'll be in danger. Once we get to this hideout, we're going to lay low for a few days and come up with a strategy to deal with Akatsuki." Naruto said charismatically.

"We don't even know any other jinchuuriki besides the girl's uncle!" Haku stated.

"Don't call me 'the girl!'" Yugito cut in.

"You don't know…but I do," Deidara said as he turned to face the group with a proud smirk. "The Kazekage is a jinchuuriki and is most likely Madara's next target."

"Who is the Kazekage?" Naruto asked curiously. "His name is Gaara…he was the son of the fourth Kazekage. Sasori and I spent a lot of time watching him. He is probably the most powerful ninja that village has ever had with the exception of the third Kazekage hm."

"Gaara is the Kazekage?" Naruto asked shocked, "I…can't believe it."

Mei looked at him curiously, "What's wrong? Do you know him?"

"Gaara and I are old friends..." Naruto trailed off in thought.

"Are you sure we can trust this guy? He is a part of Akatsuki after all," Zabuza said looking at the blonde man intensely. Deidara waved him off and laughed, "If you don't like me then by all means jump…it's a long swim to shore."

"He pulled my ass out of the Valley of the End and has good intel…Deidara has already proven his loyalty," Naruto explained.

"Just like your blue haired slut, Konan, right?" Yugito asked causing everyone to look at her shocked. Naruto shook his head and sighed, "When we land, you and I are going to have a talk…" Naruto said annoyed.

"Maybe if you would freaking unbind me then I wouldn't feel so disinclined to help you!" The blonde woman yelled. Naruto looked at Fu and nodded his head causing the woman to undo the chains and restraints on the woman throwing them off the bird into the water.

"Don't even think about escaping…you won't get very far," Naruto spoke to the blonde jinchuuriki.

She shrugged and shook her head, "I don't see any point in leaving now…seeing as how you abducted the Mizukage I'm sure my father and the other kages will learn soon enough. Not to mention I want to know what's going on so I don't intend on leaving now…"

"Damn…" Fu said quietly to herself with a grin plastered over her face.

"Sasori is most likely on his way to Suna as we speak hm," Deidara cut in.

Yugito shook her head worried at the mention, "This is going to throw everything into political chaos…"

"We'll discuss this later once we get to this hideout; I want Yagura conscious for it." Naruto sighed as the bird flew into the horizon. His mind wandered to the thought of Gaara, '_He's my friend…maybe I need to rethink my approach with Suna. Gaara is reasonable enough to listen to me…I hope._'

XXXXXXX

Sasuke spotted Kimimaro sitting under a tree outside of the village. The snowy haired shinobi was coughing up blood as he looked at the night sky. The Uchiha walked over towards Kimimaro and sat down next to him.

"Sasuke…you wanted to talk?" Kimimaro asked as the Uchiha gave him a concerned look. Sasuke nodded his head and asked, "Yeah…why did you tell Orochimaru about Guren?"

Kimimaro closed his eyes and leaned his head against the tree, "Orochimaru already knew about her betrayal before we even arrived…lying to him would only prove our loyalty to Guren and to Naruto." Sasuke looked at him and raised a brow curiously, "How did you know that?"

"I know because Orochimaru can sense his minions chakra…since Guren was killed by Naruto, hers was altered which gave her away. I didn't think it would matter then since we were traveling with Naruto, but when Guren suggested pretending to go back, I came up with the plan." Kimimaro explained thoroughly.

"Guren died? Then how is she alive exactly?" Sasuke asked curiously. Kimimaro shook his head in confusion, "I'm not sure…Naruto resurrected her after killing her in Oto. It was a flashy display of his Rinnegan's power. The villagers there think he's some kind of god."

Sasuke looked shocked at the news and shook his head in disbelief, "So…that's how he brought Zabuza and Haku back then?"

Kimimaro nodded his head, "I guess so…it certainly made it easy for him to take over the village. The villagers in Oto are somewhat loyal to Orochimaru, but a majority of the lower ranking ones only follow him out of necessity. When they saw him resurrect Guren, they immediately believed he was more powerful than Orochimaru…and they're mostly right."

"So what's Naruto like after all these years? Is he still angry at the world?" Sasuke asked. Kimimaro looked at the Uchiha curiously and wiped blood from his mouth, "Yes and no…from the little time I spent with him, he seemed very determined to do some good. I'm not really sure about his past, but my guess is that spending a lot of time away from Konoha has changed him for the better."

"So he isn't as bitter?" Sasuke questioned. Kimimaro shrugged and shook his head, "I won't pretend to understand how he feels…he can be so easy going and nice one moment and bitterly dark another. When we see him, I am not sure how he will react to you."

The raven haired nin sighed and nodded his head, "Hopefully he'll react well."

Sasuke looked at the puddle of blood surrounding Kimimaro and shook his head, "It's getting worse huh?"

"Yes…I don't want to die, but my sickness has really been eating away at me the past year. Kabuto did what he could, but he said he couldn't cure my disease due to my genetic structure. I had honestly given up hope before Naruto came along. These past few weeks have really had me thinking about what my life means to the world. Under Orochimaru I am nothing but a tool…but Naruto seemed so much more sincere about helping me…he said that if I joined him, I could become one of his champions…and be a hero." Kimimaro explained distantly.

"I didn't know things like that mattered to you," Sasuke said.

Kimimaro nodded his head with a frown, "When I was a child…I was a member of the Kaguya Clan. They feared and hated me because I possessed the Shikotsumyaku bloodline. I was the most powerful person in the clan even though I was child. Because of this, my father locked me in a cage and only let me out to fight for the clan…"

Sasuke frowned at the information and shook his head, "Sounds like they coveted your power…How did you end up with Orochimaru then?"

"Eventually, the clan got foolhardy and tried attacking Kirigakure along with several other clans from in that village. Everyone was slaughtered by Yagura's men except for me. I wandered around for months after the battle and eventually was found by Orochimaru in Fire Country. Orochimaru is a very generous person…but his cursed marks make us his slaves...that always interfered with my personal ambitions."

"Why would being a hero matter to you?" Sasuke asked perplexed as the white haired man stared at the stars. Kimimaro sighed deeply, "I am the last surviving member of the Kaguya Clan…I don't want to be remembered as a bloodthirsty barbarian…I want to redeem my clan and be seen as somebody who matters to the world."

Sasuke nodded his head empathetically, "I know how that feels…my brother wiped out my entire clan and we're all that's left. I don't want the Uchiha Clan to die with a monster like Itachi."

Suddenly, a red head stepped in front of the two shinobi and shook her head amused as she handed them dango sticks, "There you two are…what the fuck are you doing way the hell out here? I've been looking for you guys for the last three hours. I got you something to eat. I figured you were probably hungry."

Sasuke took the food and smiled, "I guess I didn't realize I was hungry. Thanks, Tayuya." The red head shrugged carelessly, "Yeah yeah don't get all sentimental on me. Here Kimimaro try some of this dango."

The white haired man stared at the food for a moment and looked away, "I'm not hungry…"

Tayuya shook her head and started yelling, "You haven't eaten in days! I know you're hungry…so stop being a pussy and eat it!"

Kimimaro reluctantly took the food and slowly began eating. Tayuya looked at the puddle of blood surrounding the man and shook her head, "Seriously, Kim…you can't malnourish yourself if you're this sick."

The snowy haired man shrugged carelessly, "I'm going to puke it up later anyways…what's the point?"

"Stop being be emo Kimmy…your brooding is even putting Sasuke's to shame…" Tayuya laughed causing Sasuke to raise a brow questioningly.

"Where is Orochimaru? He kind of just took off on us last night and told us to wait around in the village…" Sasuke asked

"I ran in to Orochimaru earlier. He was creeping around the village…I have no clue what he was doing, but he wants us to meet him at market. Apparently, Anko and Guren are almost back…"

Kimimaro stood up and looked at Sasuke and Tayuya, "Let's go."

XXXXXXX

Konan, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Shizune were all walking through the gates of Amegakure. Konan had a stoic look on her face as she examined the destruction in her village. Hidan looked around and laughed, "Damn I heard the battle was heavy, but this is some hardcore shit!"

"Property damage…I guess you'll be raising taxes," Kakuzu commented as he looked at the crumbling buildings. Shizune remained quiet as she glared at Konan jealously.

As the four members of Akatsuki wandered into the village, they noticed a large number of civilians cleaning up the debris around their homes. Several chuunin spotted Konan and instantly ran over to the group, "Lady Konan, you're alive! Finally some good news!" one said as she started to follow the group.

Everyone immediately perked up at the sight of Konan wandering into the village and began to bow as she walked by. As the palace came into view Hidan shook his head and laughed, "Shit…you had it easy the last few years…is this place big enough bitch?"

The shinobi surrounding the scene all bowed as Konan approached the entrance with a callous look on her face. A brunette woman ran down the stairs and bowed low as she came within range, "Lady Konan, welcome back…we've remained in the village as you ordered and have been making repairs."

Konan looked at the woman and nodded, "Very well, Hisame…Has the Taki ambassador come yet?"

"Yes, Lady Konan, they have informed us of your plans" Hisame said respectfully.

"Good…I hope you have made preparations," Konan said darkly. Hisame nervously nodded her head and replied, "Y-Yes…I have sent word to our outlying posts in Kusa and Tani…we are mobilizing the army for the invasion of Iwa."

Kakuzu looked at Konan impressed, "I knew you were powerful, Konan, but I had no clue you had the man power to conquer Iwa." She looked at him and nodded her head, "Yes, Kakuzu…I've been planning this for a while."

Hisame looked at Konan perplexed and asked, "Are these guests of yours Konan-sama?"

The azure beauty nodded her head, "They are subordinates of mine from Akatsuki."

"Subordinates?" Shizune questioned angrily. Konan looked at the woman and smiled, "Yes, or would you rather I kill you for questioning me?"

The medic nin reluctantly shut up whilst glaring at Konan. Hidan shook his head, "We're all merely servants of Jashin-sama…he is my only true master."

"Shut up Hidan…nobody wants to hear about Jashin-hime again," Kakuzu stated annoyed. Hidan boiled in anger and turned to yell at Kakuzu, "HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE GREAT JASHIN-SAMA AGAIN YOU MOTHER FUCKER! His dark powers shall smite you, Kakuzu! You insolent sinner!"

"So you keep saying...your god doesn't have shit on me," Kakuzu sighed in annoyance.

"Enough!" Konan shouted at Hidan causing him to calm down. "Yeah yeah whatever…fuck you Kakuzu...one day I'll prove to you how powerful Jashin-sama really is." Hidan groaned in annoyance.

Hisame looked at Konan and asked, "Lady Konan forgive me for interrupting, but what happened to Pein?"

"That's none of your concern…gather my troops and have them assembled as soon as the reinforcements from Tani and Kusa arrive. Iwa is going to burn to the ground." Konan ordered.

Rain began to pour heavily shortly after the Akatsuki members entered the palace. Kakuzu sat at the entrance and watched the rain pour. The missing nin opened his briefcase and stared at his money inside of it. _'I'm too old for this shit…I just want to retire in my damn mansion and never be bothered again._'

Kakuzu remembered living in a big house in Takigakure. Lately he had been yearning for his old life, '_That little Taki girl…she reminds me of my dead daughter. I wonder what has been happening there ever since I left…it's been over sixty years since the elders killed my family.' _Kakuzu saw images of his dead children and wife flash through his mind.

Another image of him tearing their hearts out followed. '_If there's one thing I've learned over all these years, it's that I can't count on anybody…money is the only dependable thing in this world. I can't wait till this business with Akatsuki is over. Konan...Madara...Itachi...everyone is so untrustworthy. I don't want to be around when that mess blows up._' Kakuzu thought as he stared at his briefcase again. '

XXXXXXX

Sasori and Madara were making good progress on their way towards Suna. Their trip was spent in relative silence with the occasional comment here and there.

"So…are you going to assist me in capturing Gaara or is it going to be the 'stand back and watch unless I am in trouble' thing again?" Sasori asked smiling at the Uchiha.

"I don't doubt you can easily handle Shukaku, but I am merely here to ENSURE that the job gets done…"

"Are you really going to kill Deidara?" Sasori asked. The Uchiha turned to look at the puppet master and nodded his head, "Yes, and much worse…do you object?"

"Yes I do," Sasori bluntly replied with a straight look on his face. Madara sighed and shook his head, "Interesting…just remember who owns you Sasori, otherwise you'll end up joining him."

The red head nodded his head respectfully, "Of course Madara, I merely wished to express my opinion on the matter."

"Noted…" Madara said as they continued onward.

"So...sending Zetsu to get Orochimaru eh?" Sasori asked. Madara ran a hand through his hair and nodded, "Yes...I want to speak to him."

"Care to say why? Or are you going to give me blunt, dodging responses everytime I ask you a question?" Sasori asked.

Madara sighed at the puppet master and shook his head, "You're a little too curious for your own good, Sasori...everything is on a need to know basis for a reason."

"So what did you do for those three years you were in Water Country all by yourself? You said you controlled the Mizukage..." Sasori continued questioning amused.

"Don't you have dolls to be playing with or something? I suggest you quit asking me questions before something bad happens," The Uchiha groaned in annoyance. Sasori looked over at him and smiled again, "Maybe I will...You're boring the hell out of me."

"Just shut up Sasori..." Madara sighed as he began to ignore the puppet master.

XXXXXXX

YEAH! Okay that's chapter 12 for you guys. I know it wasn't as interesting as the last one, but oh well. Some things I wanted to go over:

I know the battle with Yagura wasn't as epic as some would have hoped, but it doesn't matter that much since he is going to play a significant role later on. Despite Naruto's intervention, there is obviously going to be heavy tension between Zabuza, Mei, and Yagura.

I kind of made Yugito out to be a bitch this chapter, but there are reasons behind that. She is still against Naruto's plans and doesn't realize she likes him…yet. She'll eventually come around in later chapters, so don't think I was bashing her…I love Yugito.

Sasuke's role is starting to heat up…the next few chapters are really going to do him and our favorite Oto nin some justice.

I hope the invasion of Iwagakure has some people excited. I certainly can't wait to write it…I hope it makes you think. For those that don't know who Hisame is go look her up. She's a rain nin who made an appearance at Taki in canon…she isn't that important. I honestly just needed a few additional named characters.

There's a vacuum of power in Kiri now…I wonder how that will pan out. You'll have to wait and see haha. I can't wait for the Sasori vs. Gaara showdown either…

Imagine Deidara as an academy student…that just seemed kind of fitting having him blow somebody up lol.

Anyways thanks for reading. Love ya! Expect the next chapter within a week or two at the most.


	13. Chapter 13

Good to know some of you still like this story…I am honestly surprised it got this far haha. I keep it going for my loyal readers.

I mean don't get me wrong…I never had intentions to quit writing it, but I am glad to see that some of you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.

As for the people that don't like it…umm…I hate you.

Anyways, Crimson ultrafox will shut up now…

**Chapter 13: Paths of Pain**

In the somewhat peaceful village of Konoha, a blonde haired Hokage glancing at an Anbu report with a worried look on her face. Standing across from her desk, Danzo and two Anbu were staring at her curiously awaiting a reaction.

"So your ROOT agents intercepted a Kumo patrol near the Valley of the End…they claim to be searching for the Raikage's missing daughter?" Tsunade asked incredulously.

Danzo nodded his head in confirmation, "Yes, apparently she went missing several weeks ago pursuing two missing nin with black coats and red clouds. There's no doubt about it…somebody is after jinchuuriki."

Standing to Tsunade's side, Jiraiya was leaning against the window with his arms crossed. "The Raikage's daughter is a jinchuuriki, Tsunade-hime…"

Tsunade, Danzo, and the two anbu looked at Jiraiya shocked. "Is she now? That gives me reason to suspect that these individuals might be the same ones linked to the Kyuubi kid's disappearance," Danzo suggested.

Before anybody could react, Kakashi and Yamato came bursting through the office doors with a Kiri jounin behind them. Tsunade looked shocked as Kakashi spoke up urgently, "Forgive the interruption Tsunade-sama, but this is very important! Tell her exactly what you told me!" Kakashi said to the Kiri jounin.

She walked past Danzo and up to Tsunade's desk and spoke up, "Greetings Godaime Hokage…there is something you must know." The blonde hokage looked at the woman curiously and nodded her head.

"You see…Yagura-sama, the Mizukage has been abducted! Our village is in widespread chaos right now!" The jounin rambled urgently causing Jiraiya to turn around with a horrified look on his face.

"Who could possibly abduct a Kage?" Jiraiya asked shocked as the woman trembled in fear. Danzo decided to cut in, "Who is responsible girl! Did you identify the culprits!"

She looked over at the bandage wrapped elder and nodded nervously, "Y-yes…Yagura was captured!" Everyone's eyes shot open in horror. Danzo shook his head in disbelief, "Impossible! How did this happen? You have no idea who it was?"

"It was Zabuza and Haku," The woman said worried.

Tsunade crossed her arms and sighed, "This is urgent indeed…"

The jounin nodded her head and continued, "It all started when Zabuza and Haku approached the borders of our Country…they killed everyone who got in the way."

The Kiri woman paused for breath as everyone looked shocked at the news. Kakashi cut in quickly, "Zabuza and Haku were at Ame when Pein showed up…he told them to go to Kusa! How did they end up there?"

Danzo sighed at the news, "This proves Pein is truly an enemy after all…what happened exactly?"

The Kiri jounin continued, "After killing Ameyuri-sama at the one of our mainland ports, they hijacked a boat and pulled into the southern harbor of the main island. The entire area is gone…It was a massive battle, and according to eye-witnesses, Mei ended up killing Raiga-sama and leaving with Zabuza and Haku to kill Yagura! By the time they reached the city, everybody was too afraid to attack them."

"Who is Mei? Speak quickly girl!" Danzo shouted at the woman.

She shook her head and sighed, "Mei is the Mizukage's Apprentice…she's gone rogue."

The woman paused for breath as everyone traded worried glances. After a few moments she continued again, "Yagura-sama lured them away from the village and battled. In the end, he was defeated when a massive bird blew up half the coastline. It flew away afterwards…we can only assume that they captured Yagura-sama. We arrived too late to stop them. Considering the involvement of his henchmen, the elders believe that Pein is responsible…he must be after jinchuuriki!"

Tsunade looked at her confused, "If Pein is after jinchuuriki why would he attack the Mizukage?"

"Yagura is the jinchuuriki of the three tails…" Danzo answered plainly. Everyone was shocked. Tsunade began to growl in annoyance and stood up punching her desk.

The piece of furniture splintered into a hundred pieces as the Hokage began to pace around pissed, "This can't be a coincidence! Pein is undeniably capturing jinchuuriki….but what of these cloaked nin that were spotted in Kumo? Are they somehow connected?"

The jounin answered Tsunade, "I don't think so…we managed to intercept the news from several Kumo patrols…they told us that one of those missing nin had a large wrapped sword and strange shark like features. We identified this sighting is most likely, Kisame. That leads me to believe the other one is Itachi. The two of them were known to have battled against Pein and his followers in Wave Country three years ago."

"Konan said she knew Itachi and Kisame…so I hardly doubt Pein is on friendly terms with that group," Kakashi mentioned.

Danzo turned to leave the office, "I am going to send Anbu to investigate the Valley of the End…there must be clues of these sightings around there." His anbu escort turned to follow him.

As Danzo walked out of the office, he noticed Kankuro and Temari standing outside the doorway listening in on the conversation. They both walked in and Kankuro shook his head worried, "If Yagura was captured…that means my brother is in danger!"

"You need to send reinforcements to Suna! Gaara is a jinchuuriki too! He is in trouble!" Temari added desperately. Tsunade nodded at the Sand nin, "I can't send much without leaving my village exposed…but I'll see to it that Gaara and the other Kages are notified of this."

Temari and Kankuro exchanged worried looks and nodded. "We have to return to Suna immediately Hokage-sama…forgive our withdraw, but we won't allow our brother to be captured!"

Tsunade nodded her head, "Do what you must…take some of my people with you. Kakashi go find the Ame assault survivors and gather them for a mission to guard the Kazekage. I would appreciate if you wait for my escort team to assemble before leaving."

"Fair enough…Hokage-sama," Kankuro said. Kakashi nodded his head and left immediately along with Yamato, Temari, and Kankuro. Jiraiya and Tsunade were alone in her office with the Kiri woman. Tsunade leaned against the wall and slid down to her butt as she covered her face and groaned.

The Kiri jounin bowed to Tsunade and took her leave, "Farewell, Hokage-sama."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

In the city of Kumogakure, a messenger from Kiri was bowing to the floor as the burly dark skinned Raikage angrily paced back and forth. Upon hearing the news of Yagura's abduction combined with his own daughter's disappearance, he assumed Pein was responsible for both actions.

Casually strolling into the office, his brother only known as Killer Bee leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. The Raikage looked over at his brother and yelled, "WHERE IS YUGITO! DID YOU FIND ANYTHING?"

The jinchuuriki nodded his head, "Yes and no…your baby girl went chasing after those shady guys that have been snooping around lately. I followed her trail to the Valley of the End, but I found no trace of her there. The entire Valley is a crater."

The Raikage glared at his brother, "So you just decided to come back and tell me? Why aren't you still out there?"

"Yo, relax bro. I got important stuff to tell you…I found out who those two shady dudes were. They are Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki…they are on their way back to the village. I just thought I'd warn you. They may be coming for me next."

"Hmm…have you heard about the Mizukage yet B?" The Raikage asked sternly. Killer Bee nodded his head casually, "Yeah I overheard ya bro…Yagura got captured. You think Pein is behind all this?"

The older brother nodded his head and sighed, "None of this seems coincidental. Konoha's jinchuuriki went missing over three years ago around the same time Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki were spotted in Fire Country. If you saw them here…then that means that they are somehow connected to Yugito's abduction."

"You know I wrote a rap about them on the way back…want to hear it?"

"No…please don't start with that.." The Raikage sighed as Killer Bee started to rap,

_Yo! This is my reaction to ya lack of compassion/ _

_I got seven swords punk , who you tryin ta cash in?/_

_I'm Lord Hachibi bitch an I got eight tails/_

_I'm a beast, I'm a pro, I aint eva gonna fail/_

_Take a step back, you can't handle ma skills/_

_I'll kick ya ass all day cuz I'm the King uh this hill/_

_Remember the name…Killer Bee, fool/_

_I'm a stone cold badass, I aint eva lost a duel/_

_You aint a match for this jinchuuriki/_

_Cuz I float like a butterfly and sting like a Bee/_

"B, shut up! This is serious! We have two missing nin who dare to oppose the wrath of the unbeatable Kumogakure! We're going to deal with them!"

The Raikage punched a nearby wall and cracked his knuckles as he looked down at the Kiri messenger. "Get lost kid, you and I are done talking!"

The Kiri messenger cringed as the Raikage glared at him. He stood up and left immediately. As he walked past the door, he turned back and spoke, "It would be a good idea to contact the other Kages about this…especially the Hokage."

The burly Raikage cracked his fists and began to laugh, "I don't have time to go play politics with Konoha! My village is in danger!"

Killer Bee nodded his head as he walked over the Raikage, "Chill bro! We got this…Yugito will be fine." The jinchuuriki held his closed fist up looking up at his brother.

The Raikage and Killer Bee fist bumped powerfully before Killer Bee turned to leave the office, "Hit me up when you're ready to go…I'll be chilling in the village."

"I'll be ready in one hour…don't get too comfortable." He replied strictly. The Raikage walked back over to his desk and looked at the picture of his family. He sighed at his wife in the photo. '_Yugito looks so much like you now…You would be proud of our daughter. I won't let anything happen to her…if they lay one hand on her I'll tear their heads off!_'

XXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto and the gang were all outside of what appeared to be a hot spring. The Rinnegan wielder looked towards the blonde man skeptically and laughed, "Is this your hideout?"

Deidara nodded his head and laughed in return, "Yeah, this used to be one of Hidan's spots…his old village isn't too far from here,"

Everyone traded odd looks as Deidara pointed towards a large building in the area and the surrounding saunas. "Well at least it's relaxing…" Zabuza said as he looked around. Haku sighed as she nodded her head, "I'm just glad this hideout didn't turn out to be a cave…at least this place probably has furniture."

"My legs are asleep after that long ass ride…" Fu sighed. Several murmurs of agreement followed. Naruto looked around confused and asked, "So…nobody else knows about this hot spring? Seems like this place should be bustling with tourists or something."

"Hmmm…I think this is actually Hidan's house. Hahaha so yeah I don't think you have to worry about anybody finding it hmm." Deidara laughed as he looked at the large building. Naruto thought for a moment, "Which one was Hidan again?"

"He was that guy that gave me strange looks all the time. Oh…I mean he was the one with the open cloak and the scythe un." Deidara answered. Fu shook her head at the mention, "Yeah the immortal guy right? I couldn't kill him…"

Mei looked at the saunas and smiled, "So the seven of us are going to spend a few days in this creepy hot spring house?"

The bomber laughed and nodded his head, "Well unless you'd rather sleep outside."

"Pass…" Mei said coldly as she rolled her eyes at Deidara. The blonde huffed at her attitude, "You're one stuck up bitch…"

Haku shook her head and added, "No she's not stuck up…she's just a bitchy whore." Deidara smirked at Haku's comment and held his palms out to Mei sticking the tongues out of his hands at her.

Naruto looked at the others and sighed, "Everybody go get some sleep…we're going to take four hour shifts watching Yagura. Fu go first, I'll take second shift, and Deidara third. Tomorrow we're going to discuss the situation with Yagura and deal with him accordingly."

Mei shrugged as she looked around, "Whatever…I'll be in the sauna doing bitchy whore things."

"You do that…I'm going to check out this house," Zabuza sighed as he wandered inside the large building. Naruto handed Yagura over to Fu and whispered, "Keep a close eye on him until I get back. Also make sure Zabuza and Mei don't kill him." Fu nodded her head as she dragged the Jinchuuriki inside the building.

Naruto looked over towards Yugito and began staring at her. She looked over at him nervously as he walked closer. "We need to talk, Yugito…" Naruto stated plainly causing the blonde woman to nervously back away. Deidara watched the sight interested, "Is she finally going to get punished for insulting my art?"

Naruto looked at Deidara, "We'll be right back…I just want to talk with her alone."

The blonde man nodded his head and flipped his bang as he turned to walk inside.

"W-What are y-you going to do?" Yugito stuttered slightly worried as Naruto got closer. He held his hand out and she was immediately lifted off of her feet and pulled towards him. As she got close, Naruto grabbed her arm and began to lead her a considerable distance away from the hot spring.

Yugito struggled for a bit but eventually gave up upon realizing her efforts were pointless. When they were finally out of range, Naruto let go of her arm and began to stare at her.

"Umm…please stop doing that," Yugito demanded. Naruto continued to stare and after another awkward moment of silence, he began to speak, "You seem to have personal issues…I noticed that you react very poorly in the company of others. Care to explain yourself?"

Yugito looked at him irritably and shook her head, "I am not going to break down for you…you're the enemy. So you'll have to forgive me if I don't feel inclined to whole-heartedly trust you right away!"

"Trust is irrelevant in this matter. I want to know why you're such a bitch…is it because you feel like you have something to prove as a jinchuuriki?" Naruto asked coldly.

"How dare you say th…" Yugito replied but was cut off as Naruto began to speak again, "How dare I? How dare I? I am a jinchuuriki myself…don't assume I lack understanding in this matter!"

Yugito began to glare at him fiercely and huffed in annoyance, "What's the point of all this? No matter what you say or do, I won't willingly support you like your little fan club in there!"

"Fine…if that's how you want to be, then I'll just guess why you're a bitch. Being the daughter of the Raikage and a jinchuuriki, you were sheltered as a child and never grew up with any friends. People never saw you as a human being and you were only seen as a weapon. The only thing that kept you sane was the love of your father, but his strict demands for being strong and powerful made you callous and resentful. I'm also guessing that your mother died a long time ago due to your lack of civility and manners. Am I right so far?"

Yugito had a shocked expression on her face upon hearing his words. There was a brief silence before she spoke again, "If you knew all that then what was the point of asking me huh!"

"You serve your village for several reasons…you fear your father, you obviously respect your uncle, and you don't truly understand the feelings you've repressed all your life." Naruto continued coldly. Yugito looked emotional as Naruto continued to blankly stare at her.

Yugito growled in anger at Naruto and started yelling, "Ooh! And what about you! You abandoned your village…I didn't! You're the one with the god complex, and you're the one who is a mass murderer and notorious criminal! We're nothing alike…I don't kill people for fun! They may hate me…but at least I don't hate me! How can you live with yourself!"

Yugito was panting heavily after her rant. She stared at Naruto intently awaiting his answer, but to her surprise he remained silent.

"Well…aren't you going to say something?" Yugito asked angrily. Naruto had an emotionless face and finally shook his head, "You're a lost cause…your life will forever be meaningless and empty if you continue on your current path. If it wasn't for the fact that you know my identity I would probably just let you go. However, seeing as how you do know, I can't allow you to leave and risk my exposure yet."

Yugito looked at him confused as he turned to walk away. Suddenly, Yugito felt her entire body being pulled towards Naruto as he held his hand outstretched.

He looked at her again as she was suspended in the air several feet from him and sighed, "Don't even try running…you won't get far." Yugito dropped to her feet in front of Naruto as he turned to walk again. Without a second thought she immediately followed him back to Hidan's House.

The whole walk back she couldn't fathom why she was following Naruto. Yugito inwardly sighed as she thought about his words, '_What the fuck is wrong with this guy? One day he is carefree and the next he says that my life is empty and worthless…Fuck him! He's just a selfish murderer anyways.'_

When they finally reached the hot spring again, Yugito went to the sauna. Naruto stood outside for a few moments and sighed, '_I need some alone time…_' He walked over to a large boulder and sat on top it.

A familiar demonic voice began to speak in his head again much to his surprise, **"You're no match for Madara at your current strength…It is time for all of this child's play to end. You need to master the Rinnegan."**

'_I've only had the Rinnegan for three years…I don't know that much about it. Why did it take so long to develop?'_

"**Your Rinnegan was recessive…When we battled the Uchiha kid in the Valley of the End, I realized that you had it then. I was surprised at first, but I found it interesting since you are the only person to ever acquire it besides the Rikudo Sennin."**

'_How was the Rikudo Sennin so powerful?' _Naruto asked. **"He mastered the Rinnegan and the ten tails." **

'_How can I master the Rinnegan, Kyuubi?' _

There was a long silence before the fox finally answered, **"You do not truly understand the Rinnegan as he did. I guess I am partly to blame for your ignorance…I suppose it is time for us to continue on with your training. **

'_What kind of Training? How are you going to train me?' _Naruto asked. Kyuubi sighed as he answered, **"This isn't training as you understand it…you will meditate and the Rinnegan will show you the truth." **Naruto cocked his head in confusion, '_What? What the hell do you mean by that?_'

Before Naruto could get an answer, his vision went dark as his eyes began to burn painfully. '_Arghh! What the hell? I can't see_!' Naruto's entire body began to burn painfully.

His mind flashed through visions of his past. He saw Itachi and Kisame standing across from him on the water. Black flames completely surrounded him and began to burn his skin painfully. Naruto began to relive the event as he sunk underwater burning from Itachi's Amaterasu.

'_Arrrgh! The pain!_' The overwhelming flames continued to burn underwater as Naruto sunk lower and lower. '_Kyuubi! What the hell is this?_'

The Kyuubi calmly spoke in a soothing tone, **"Shhhh…empty your mind and amplify your chakra. Release it slowly. Feel the Rinnegan's power flowing through your body. Stop fighting it…relax every muscle in your body and clear your mind. Give in to the pain…now look into that dark corner of your mind."**

Naruto followed the fox's command and felt his entire body become numb as he continued to sink. He heard a distant echo in his mind, '_**Chibaku Tensei…Show them the true power of the Rinnegan!**_'

Naruto began absorbing the black flames of Amaterasu as he flew into the sky with a blood red cloak of chakra. His body was scorched, but was regenerating much to his surprise.

As he relived the moment, a vision began to consume his mind as he saw the shadowy figure of a man standing across from him. The only thing Naruto could see were the glowing purple eyes of the Rinnegan.

The individual held his arm up and a massive wave of chakra fired from his hand. The chakra completely surrounded Naruto as the individual stared at him. '_Who the hell are you? Are you the Rikudo Sennin?_' The individual walked closer towards him, and Naruto gasped upon seeing his own face.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw himself glowing a silvery purple. He stood up in shock as he looked around. Zabuza, Haku, and Fu were all standing behind him perplexed as he turned to face them. "Look he's finally awake!" Haku shouted. Everyone stared at him confused. **"Now you understand."**

Naruto looked at Zabuza and Haku briefly before extending his arms at both of them causing the glow of chakra to surround them. Zabuza and Haku fell to their knees in agony as Naruto channeled the chakra into them.

The scene caused Mei and Yugito to run out of the sauna. Mei looked shocked as she noticed the glow around Naruto, Zabuza, and Haku. "What the hell is going on?" Mei asked shocked as Naruto stared at his agonized companions. Deidara ran over upon hearing this and looked shocked at the sight.

"I understand now." Naruto said calmly. Zabuza shook his head in agony and began to shout, "MY EYES!"

Haku and Zabuza's eyes bled heavily causing Deidara to shake his head, "What the fuck are you doing to them?"

After a moment, the glow finally wore off causing Zabuza and Haku to collapse on the ground. A brief silence passed before Naruto began to speak again, "Rise Preta, and Rise Human. Become what you were meant to be." Zabuza and Haku both opened their eyes and stood up looking around shocked as they felt an overwhelming surge of energy flowing into them from Naruto.

Zabuza looked over towards the others confused before Mei's jaw dropped, "Your eyes! They're…like his!" Zabuza looked over to Haku and was shocked to see her once caramel brown eyes silvery purple like Naruto's.

Haku had a similar reaction as she looked at Zabuza. After a moment of staring, Naruto finally spoke, "Your minds are you own, but your lives are an extension of mine. You two are my Paths of Pain."

"Umm…what the fuck just happened?" Yugito gasped in horror as Zabuza and Haku both nodded at Naruto. **"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Glad to see those fools can become useful after all!"**

'_You never told me about this before…' _The Kyuubi huffed in irritation, **"I honestly didn't know it work without using chakra rods on them. I guess since they are both technically alive must be the reason."**

'_That's exactly what I mean…I didn't know any of that. You say you want me to become powerful yet you have kept this information to yourself for all these years.'_

"**Are we having this stupid conversation again? Get over it…you weren't ready then. Besides what does it matter…you know now!"**

'_Kyuubi…I want to know the real reason why you know so much about the Rinnegan.' _Naruto requested. The fox snarled and began to laugh, **"You read that book…your answer is in there."**

'_Fine…you won't tell me the truth anyways.'_ The fox remained silent and didn't reply to him much to his surprise.

Deidara just shook his head and laughed, "Madara is going to cry when he sees this hmm!"

Fu looked amused at the sight and shook her head, "Its your turn to watch Yagura…" The Rinnegan wielder nodded his head and started walking inside.

Everyone dispersed after Naruto started walking away. Zabuza looked at Haku and shook his head, "This feels…weird. Is it just me or do you feel like you know things you didn't before?"

Haku nodded her head, "Yes…I can't quite place it, but I feel like Naruto imbedded information into our minds."

Zabuza took a deep breath and looked up at the open sky, "I wonder how this will affect Guren…"

Yugito stood still after witnessing the event and shook her head fearfully, '_What the hell did he just do to them? Just how powerful is he?_'

Naruto looked around Hidan's House curiously.

All of the inside walls were black with red on them. Naruto looked at the wall in one of the bedrooms and noticed a painting. He walked over towards it interested. The painting was of Hidan himself bowing to a shadowy demonic figure.

The demon looked twice as tall as Hidan himself with many spikes protruding from its back. Although, the only real feature Naruto could make out from the figure was a glowing red crystal sticking out of its forehead. '_That's not creepy at all…_'

"This is an interesting painting…kinda makes you wonder about how real Hidan's God is," Deidara stated out of nowhere. Naruto turned around and looked at him confused, "So…this is some kind of religion? Is that thing a god?"

Deidara shrugged carelessly, "Hidan says he is a follower of Jashinism, but who knows how real that is."

"**Jashin is real…that painting looks just like him."**

'_You knew Jashin? What is he exactly?' _Naruto asked Kyuubi curiously. **"Jashin is a demi-god."**

"You guys never asked him about it?" Naruto asked looking over at the blonde. Deidara scoffed and shook his head, "Are you kidding? That's all he ever talked about…Jashin this…Jashin that…Jashin fucked me up the ass…blah blah blah. At least that's what I always heard hmm."

"Yeah…well anyways, where is Yagura at?" Naruto questioned. Deidara thought for a moment, "The living room,"

Naruto headed towards the large and open living room. Like the rest of the house, the walls were only black with the occasional Jashin marking traced in blood on them. '_Wow…is the whole house like this?_'

Looking over at the table, Naruto examined Yagura lying on top. He sighed as he examined the Mizukage. Yagura was scuffed up and had some torn clothes, but otherwise appeared to be fine. **"He's bound to wake within a day or so…his injuries have healed a lot faster than I anticipated."**

'_At least there's a couch in here…although I don't want to know what's on it.'_

"**A bunch of blood, some dried up tears, alcohol, and other stuff you probably don't want to know about." **

'_Yeah…I don't really know. Anyways…I wonder how Guren is managing, Let me see if I can transmit my power to her from this range._' Naruto sat on the ground and began to channel the silvery purple chakra again as he focused on Guren.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Guren and Anko were passing through the open gates of Kusagakure looking around at the village. "This place is so eerie…I have barely seen any shinobi here," Anko said as she looked around.

Guren nodded her head, "All of Kusagakure is under the control of Ame…It seems likely that the bulk of the shinobi forces have been returning to Ame preparing for that invasion. I am curious to find out what Orochimaru will say."

Anko shrugged as the two women walked further into the village. They finally started to notice villagers out and about. Guren looked around and sighed, "I guess this is the market…not many people out tonight."

"Why didn't we go back to the base?" Anko asked as they wandered around the market area. Guren looked over at her and sighed, "Orochimaru probably already knows we're here." As if on cue, a long haired pale man approached them from a distance.

The two women looked over and noticed three people following Orochimaru as he came closer. Anko saw Sasuke standing behind him and looked at him shocked, "Sasuke?"

Guren looked at the Uchiha and sighed, "So you finally got him huh?"

Orochimaru had an intense look on his face as he stared at Guren. She looked at him curiously, "We're back Orochimaru-sama…we have news of the events in Ame for you." The snake sannin nodded his head and smirked as he began pacing around the group, "Ah…very good Guren. You always were the sneaky sort. Tell me what you found?"

Anko decided to answer, "There was no mention of what happened, but a Taki ambassador showed up and said that Pein and Konan are both allies now. They signed a treaty with Taki and pretty much annexed it. They plan on invading Iwa."

Everyone's eyes shot open in shock at the mention including Orochimaru's. "No…the two of them together is too dangerous. There was no mention of their whereabouts?" Orochimaru asked anxiously.

Guren nodded in response, "After we left the village, we intercepted a Taki jounin…she told us that she overheard Pein and Konan talking about the Valley of the End when they were in the village."

The snake sannin shook his head worried as he began to pace around again, "So…Konan planned on bringing Pein to Akatsuki. That is extremely disturbing news. I have no hope of acquiring his body if he has Akatsuki protecting him."

"When did Sasuke get here?" Anko asked as she looked over at the Uchiha. Sasuke spoke up, "I ditched Konoha to come find Orochimaru. Konan told us where he was."

Orochimaru looked at Sasuke suspiciously and laughed, "So…you and Anko both saw Pein? Describe him to me Sasuke-kun." This caught the Uchiha off guard looking at Orochimaru perplexed.

After a moment he answered, "Pein has spiky golden orange hair and a strange headband with a symbol of a village I don't recognize. He wore a mask when we saw him and had what appeared to be an Anbu outift on."

Orochimaru laughed as he turned towards Guren, "But you already knew that didn't you Guren-chan? You are one of my favorite subordinates…so clever and dark. Tell me how long you've been serving Pein now?"

The purple haired crystal user looked shocked as everyone focused their gaze on her. She turned towards Kimimaro and Tayuya in disbelief as they blankly stared at her.

After a long moment she finally answered, "Pein conquered Otogakure…he is far more powerful than you are. Several weeks ago, he killed me and brought me back to life. His Rinnegan is almighty and his influence is overwhelming. I did just what you told me Orochimaru-sama…I followed the strongest side. Pein is godly! You are nothing before him!"

Everyone looked shocked at Guren's disrespectful attitude as she glared at the snake sannin proudly. Orochimaru smiled at her and began to laugh, "I can't say that I blame you for choosing to do such a thing…however, Pein's body WILL be mine and once I have it I shall rule the world!"

Guren laughed at him and shook her head, "No you will not! You will fade from this world forgotten and alone. Your worst nightmares will come true as you are forever stricken from history. Pein's power shall forever overshadow the dark corner of your mind. The part that obsessively strives for power out of fear for your own worthless and insignificant life! You will die as nothing…just like your parents did!"

Guren's arrogant fury caused Orochimaru to glare at her in utter disbelief. Everybody was shocked at Guren's attitude. Anko looked at her and shook her head, "Damn…that's dark even for you babe?"

Kimimaro and Tayuya traded worried glances as Orochimaru's eye began to twitch. He shook with anger as he glared at the crystal user. After an awkward silence he spoke up, "I never would have expected to hear such disrespectful words from you, Guren…You DARE?"

"We came here to kill you Orochimaru…Pein ordered your death!" Guren shouted at him. The scene caused the few surrounding villagers to disperse in fear. Orochimaru looked at his other followers angrily, "We? Just how many of you are in favor of Guren's new master?"

Everyone blankly stared at Orochimaru causing him to back away in shock as the five shinobi stood across from him. Guren laughed at the sight and continued, "You have no idea what kind of power and influence Pein has! All of your followers stand against you! You are nothing before the might of the Rinnegan!"

Orochimaru shook his head in disbelief as the worried look on his face began to change to a smile. Orochimaru started twitching angrily. Guren raised a brow as Orochimaru began to laugh maniacally at the sight, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So Pein thinks he can take everything from me does he? I knew you this was coming…that's why I took the liberty of placing mind controlling seals on all of you! YOU ARE MY SLAVES, NOT HIS!"

Orochimaru went through some hand seals and began to glow ominously with cursed chakra as he continued laughing venomously. Afterwards, he bit his thumbs and smeared blood across his arms summoning his infamous snake Manda. He stood upon Manda's head and went through more hand seals causing his minions' cursed seals to activate. Sasuke, Anko, Tayuya, and Kimimaro all fell to their knees in agony as their cursed seals consumed them.

"I knew I should have branded you Guren…it seems I'll have to take you down personally!" the sannin giggled evilly. Manda began to hiss loudly as he leered at Guren, "A ssssssacrificccce for me? Ssssssshee will die!" Orochimaru spit Kusanagi out of his mouth and launched it towards Guren.

Manda reared back to lunge at her, but missed as she jumped out of the way. Guren went through several hand seals, "Kesshō: Kyodai Rokkaku Shuriken!" (Crystal: Giant Hexagonal Shuriken) Guren managed to deflect the blade before it flew into her. She then sent the large crystal shuriken flying at Manda.

The Shuriken made impact and caused Manda to hiss in pain as he lunged at her again. Kusanagi glowed and made a rebounding stab at Guren. It was unsuccessful as she formed two crystal blades over her arms to parry it. The sword flew back into Orochimaru's mouth. The sannin laughed as he launched a wave of snakes from his mouth at her. Before the serpents could reach their destination, Guren fired a barrage of crystal needles.

The snakes were all imbedded into the ground by the needles causing Orochimaru to smirk at the sight, "Still as powerful as I remember…Manda kill her!" The snake smashed through the village as he attacked Guren again. The woman held her hand up and caused a huge field of crystals to shoot at the snake and surround it.

The crystals began to wrap around and constrict the colossal snake as the thorns began to form. The crystal thorns began to constrict the beast holding it in place. Manda hissed in agony.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at the sight, "Fine…let's see how well you fight against your friends!" The snake sannin channeled more power into the cursed seals surrounding Sasuke, Kimimaro, Tayuya, and Anko causing all of them to become consumed by Orochimaru's will.

"Destroy her minions! YOUR MASTER COMMANDS IT!" He yelled pointing at Guren furiously. Against their own wills, Kimimaro and Sasuke ran towards Guren at high speed. Kimimaro formed a long lance from his arm and chucked it at the crystal user. Guren managed to parry the projectile but soon found Kimimaro within range flailing his bone swords at her. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and jumped into the fray.

Sasuke drew his sword and began to duel the Guren. Orochimaru watched amused as Guren struggled against Sasuke and Kimimaro. The Uchiha channeled lightning around the edge of his sword and swung powerfully shattering one of Guren's crystal blades. She jumped out of range and landed on a rooftop causing Orochimaru to laugh, "What's wrong Guren-chan? Where was that determination I saw moments ago?"

Guren felt her legs become wrapped in snakes as Kimimaro dove towards her again. She looked over to see Anko standing behind her holding her down with snakes. Guren created a crystal wall to temporarily shield herself from Kimimaro as she sliced the snakes around her legs. Kimimaro smashed through the shield effortlessly and began charging at her with bone spikes covering his body. Guren leapt off the building but was met with a swift kick to the side by Tayuya.

Guren landed on the ground and started to run away at high speed as everyone chased her down. Orochimaru followed on Manda with a proud smile watching his former minions trying to kill the woman. The crystal user turned around and went through more hand seals, "Shōton: Omiwatari no Jutsu!" (Crystal Release: The Gods' Crossings Technique)

A large trail of crystals erupted from the ground hindering Guren's pursuers temporarily. Kimimaro was impaled by several of the spikes and began to roar as he ripped from them charging at Guren again. Before Guren could stop Kimimaro, Sasuke managed to graze her arm with a chidori as he landed beside her.

Anko landed on Guren's other side and simultaneously shot a ball of fire from her mouth along with Sasuke. Guren reacted quickly, "Shōton: Hashō Kōryū!" (Crystal Release: Tearing Crystal Falling Dragon) Guren created a crystal dragon and managed to avoid the double sided flamethrower and a charging Kimimaro.

Kimimaro jumped into the air to stab the dragon but was smacked to the ground by its tail. The man held his arms up. Bone spikes rotated out of his forearms and fired relentlessly. Several managed to crack the crystal dragon. Guren turned the beast around and fired a barrage of crystal needles from its mouth to counter Kimimaro's spikes.

Caught off guard, Guren didn't notice a fiery snake wrap around her dragon bringing it to the ground. Guren looked down at Anko shocked but barely had enough time to react as Sasuke charged his sword with lightning again and completely sliced the crystal dragon in half.

Guren landed on the ground again panting heavily as snakes and bone spikes began to assail her from all sides. Guren formed a crystal shield to block the attack, but it never came. She looked around in confusion as she couldn't see anybody. After a few seconds she heard the sound of a flute playing.

"Shit…" Guren yelled at herself as she looked around desperately confused. Suddenly Guren felt a painful feeling in her chest. She looked down to see Sasuke sword impaled through her. The genjutsu wore off and Guren realized she was completely surrounded.

Orochimaru shook his head, "Tsk Tsk Tsk…I would have expected more from you Guren. Getting caught in a genjutsu…and right after that impressive little display HAHAHAHA!" Sasuke pulled his sword out and stared at her as she fell to her knees.

Guren looked at the others painfully as she saw them all glowing ominously in the dark purple aura consumed by Orochimaru's cursed seal. Guren coughed up blood and began to pant heavier as her vision became hazy. Orochimaru jumped off of Manda's head and walked over towards the woman and cupped her cheek, "So…I suppose it is time to brand you with a cursed seal Guren!"

Orochimaru's neck grew in length as he bit down on herneck. As his head returned, he watched Guren intently waiting for the seal to consume her body. Guren heard a voice in her head, "_**Rise Animal!" **_

Guren's eyes shot open wide as she began to scream in pain. She grabbed her head and flailed in agony. Orochimaru raised a brow perplexed at the situation. "Where is the cursed mark? What…what's happening?"

Guren felt an overwhelming surge of chakra wash over her. It was familiar and she recognized it instantly, '_Naruto…that's his voice…this is his chakra. It is so powerful._' Suddenly, the wound in Guren's chest began to heal.

Guren rose to her feet much to Orochimaru's utter disbelief as her body glowed in a silvery purple cloak of chakra. Guren's eyes began to bleed heavily as the chakra intensified. She closed them and bit her lip at the pain.

Orochimaru watched fascinated as the glow continued. After a moment, Guren reopened her eyes. They were silvery purple with rings. Orochimaru looked horrified as he identified the sight, "The…Rinnegan!"

Guren began to smile at the mention and laughed, "Now you know what kind of power Pein is capable of." Guren went through several hand seals, "Kesshō no Yoroi!" (Crystal Armor) Guren was completely covered in crystal armor that glowed silvery purple from her chakra.

Orochimaru jumped back on top of Manda as Kimimaro charged at Guren. The crystal user reformed two glowing crystal swords and managed to counter Kimimaro's bone sword. Sasuke stabbed from the other side but Guren managed to kick the sword from his grasp and deliver a swift kick to his chest. Anko launched another large fireball from her mouth catching Guren's blindside, but the crystal armor managed to ward off the majority of the attack.

She looked up at Orochimaru for a brief moment, '_I've got to get rid of his control over them…but how?'_ The crystal user was caught off guard as Kimimaro delivered a powerful kick sending her flying into a nearby building.

The woman jumped out of the rubble and stood on top of the gate to the village facing her foes seriously. Guren went through several hand seals and shouted, "Shōton: Suishō Meikyū no Jutsu!" (Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Labyrinth)

Kimimaro, Tayuya, Anko, and Sasuke were all enveloped inside a massive red crystal prison. Guren took the opportunity to attack Orochimaru's summon. Her crystal swords began to grow in length before as she charged the serpent. She jumped in the stabbed at the massive snake imbedding the blades in Manda.

Guren created more crystals to constrict Manda. They surrounded the mighty serpent as thorns began to grow from them once again. The titanic snake hissed in agony.

Guren took the opportunity and made a leap towards Orochimaru, but the sannin jumped away flipping through hand seals, "Fūton: Daitoppa!" (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) A surge of wind blasted Guren back. The woman landed on top of the red crystal prison.

Orochimaru began laughing again, "Your efforts are pointless…look down Guren-chan. The woman looked down and raised a brow in shock as it began to crack from all sides. A bright glow was radiating from the inside. Without a second thought, Guren dove onto a nearby rooftop.

Suddenly, the prison shattered as lightning and fire erupted in all directions. The devastation was catastrophic for the outskirts of Kusagakure as fiery lightning charged crystals rained down. Guren landed on the ground and created a crystal shield to block the aftermath.

Kimimaro went through several hand seals, "Sawarabi no Mai!" (Dance of the Seedling Fern) Bones erupted everywhere beneath Guren's feet as she began to flee further from the village to avoid the devastating field of spikes erupting from the ground.

Orochimaru cackled maniacally at the devastation, and used Manda as a shield from the attack. The massive snake disappeared in a puff of smoke. Orochimaru followed his controlled puppets laughing, "YES KILL HER NOW!"

Sasuke flew after Guren on his cursed seal hand wings. As the Uchiha got close, the crystal user managed to impale one of his wings with a crystal sword. Wasting no time, Guren jumped into the air and flashed through hand seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" (Summoning technique)

Guren was on the back of a giant drill beaked bird and managed to dodge the wave of bones Kimimaro had created.

As Guren flew overhead, Kimimaro began to fire hundreds of bone spikes at her. Orochimaru watched in awe as Guren countered them with a raining blast of crystals. Anko went through dozens of hand seals and inhaled deeply before spitting a massive fire dragon from her mouth at Guren.

The fiery entity managed to clip the bird's wing causing it shriek in pain. Guren leapt off the bird and went through more hand seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" she summoned a massive rhino and began to charge over the sea of bones towards Anko.

Before the rhino could reach her however, Tayuya played her flute and summoned a demonic chakra beast. It managed to stop the rhino in its track. Guren leapt off the beast and fired a barrage of crystals at Tayuya but was unsuccessful as she played her flute again stopping the projectiles before they hit.

"What the fuck?" Guren exclaimed. Tayuya began to play the flute faster causing the crystals to fire back at her. A long stream of lightning shot down at Guren from above, but she managed to ward the attack by leaping onto the rhino. Bone spikes shot from underneath the beast and began to impale it.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Guren summoned a massive multithreaded dog to attack Sasuke as she leapt over the field of bone spikes beneath her. Guren landed on a building and went through more hand seals. Suddenly a massive field of crystals began to erupt from the ground around Kimimaro's spikes.

The bones and crystals furiously lashed back and forth as Guren attempted to subdue Kimimaro. Meanwhile, Sasuke was battling off the monstrous multi-headed dog. The Uchiha easily dodged its moves against him with his Sharingan active and began to charge his sword with lightning. In his other hand, Sasuke charged a powerful chidori and dove towards the animal. He managed to decapitate two heads, but to his utter shock more heads grew in their place.

Charging his sword powerfully, Sasuke dashed underneath the dog and sliced it in half vertically. He flew over it and watched confused as the beast began to multiply. Orochimaru watched amused as Guren made another mad dash at him. Before she could reach him however, Tayuya played her flute quickly causing a massive wall of chakra to block Guren.

Guren looked at her confused as she noticed chakra pouring out of the flute. It took the shape of a massive demonic enemy and began to assail Guren. She formed a crystal shield over her arm and managed to stop the creature's claws as it pounced on her.

Sasuke took the opportunity to attack Guren's blindside, "Chidori Eisō!" A spear of lightning managed to smash through Guren's crystal armor causing her to smash into the ground. Snakes began to wrap around her body before she could get up. Orochimaru walked over and held his hand up to his mind controlled subordinates as he gripped Kusanagi tightly.

As Orochimaru went to stab the blade into Guren, he was shocked to find a chidori sticking through his chest. He looked over in horror as he noticed the cursed seals wearing off on Anko, Tayuya, Sasuke and Kimimaro. Orochimaru dissipated into a bunch of snakes as the real Orochimaru stood on a rooftop. Sasuke began to leer at him darkly, "It seems your seals had a time limit, Orochimaru…now you will die."

"NOOOO! I can't die!" Orochimaru swallowed his sword and summoned Manda along with several other massive snakes. The colossal serpents thrashed over buildings as they surrounded the group.

Manda reared back to bite Sasuke, but was blocked by a massive bone spike from Kimimaro impaling the roof of his mouth. Sasuke added to the spike by charging it with lightning causing agony towards the massive reptile.

Bone spikes rapidly began to pierce the serpent from every direction. Using this to his advantage, Kimimaro jumped high into the air and created a huge cleaver over his forearm and sliced through the heads of the surrounding smaller snakes leaving Manda alone.

Orochimaru took the opportunity to flee. Tayuya took notice of this as everyone else continued to battle the gigantic beast. Fire erupted from the snake's mouth blanketing the area, but was unable to hit the group as Anko launched a massive blast of fire to counter it.

A flashy display of fire rained everywhere as the two tried to overwhelm each other. Anko's fire took the shape of a massive serpent and wrapped around Manda. Sasuke added to the blast by coating Manda in lightning. Kimimaro continued impaling it with spikes from all directions before finally the beast fell over dead.

Orochimaru looked back in horror as his favorite snake fell. While running away faster, he heard a flute playing and looked up in horror as Tayuya glanced at him. Orochimaru found himself trapped in a genjutsu. He looked around confused as he saw fire surrounding him from every angle. The sannin cringed as he channeled some of his remaining chakra to block the supposed attack.

Orochimaru managed to overwhelm the vision with his chakra and came out of the illusion. He barely dodged Tayuya's kunai as he flipped back and continued to run away. Tayuya's flute began to play again causing a demonic creature to block his path. He covered his ears fearfully as he recognized what appeared to be a siren.

Tayuya played quickly again creating a massive gust of wind to surround him. The demonic creature circled Orochimaru singing in tune with the flute. Orochimaru looked shocked as the siren circled him faster and faster before finally getting sucked into a whirling tornado. The gale began to glow blue and ring loudly deafening the sannin. Caught off guard from his pain, the siren began to rapidly stab into the tornado as she circled it.

The snake sannin was stabbed several dozen times before he finally dispersed into hundreds of snakes. The snakes managed to pounce at Tayuya and wrap around her neck preventing her from playing the flute. The siren and the gale dissipated shortly afterwards.

Several wrapped around her mouth briefly holding her still as Orochimaru got a head start running away. Rain started to pour as he got a considerable distance away from the red head. He panted heavily as he looked back. He saw Tayuya breaking free from the snakes and killing them.

He began to take off even faster, but Orochimaru didn't get far before, Guren landed in front of him on a massive bird along with Sasuke, Kimimaro, and Anko. The sannin looked around horrified that he was surrounded. Guren began to speak darkly, "This is the end of the line for you!"

Everyone stared at him intensely as he began to laugh again, "HAHAHAHA! You can't kill me! You all belong to me! Hahahaha! I can't die! Yamata no Jutsu!" (Eight Branches Technique) Everyone jumped back in shock as Orochimaru transformed into a monstrous eight headed and eight tailed white snake.

He popped out of one of the mouths and laughed, "I am a dragon god! HAHAHAHAHA! Try to kill me now!" The sannin slid back into the serpent's throat.

Orochimaru began to whiplash his heads at everyone. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Guren shouted summoning a multithreaded dog to assail the white multi headed snake. A thunderstorm raged in the skies as the shinobi began to battle once more.

"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique) Anko shouted as a massive fiery dragon flew towards Orochimaru. The snake hissed in agony as the entity began to char its skin. The fiery dragon flailed into the serpent and began to wrap around it. The summoned dog pounced on the nearest head and began to wrestle with it furiously.

Guren jumped back on the bird and began to rain crystal lances at Orochimaru. In unison with her aerial assault, Kimimaro coughed up blood as he went through more hand seals, "Sawarabi no Mai!" (Dance of the Seedling Fern)

Tayuya looked at him concerned as Kimimaro ran towards Orochimaru and created another field of bone spikes surrounding the massive eight headed snake.

Every time a massive spike would protrude from the ground, Kimimaro would form out of it and stab the beast repeatedly impaling it with bone drills. The snake roared in agony as it slithered over the spikes making a mad dash towards Sasuke.

As one of the heads got close, everyone watched in awe as Kimimaro shot out of the ground and did a twisting flip stabbing a massive bone sword into the side of its head. Sasuke looked at Kimimaro impressed as he created another massive bone sword over his other arm. The snake heads lost focus on Sasuke as Kimimaro began to distract them.

Flying overhead, Guren fired several massive crystal blades impaling two heads. The snake was unable to move, giving Kimimaro the opportunity to pin down the other heads. Realizing the danger, Orochimaru reared back ripping the pinned heads off. New heads formed over the headless necks much to everyone's surprise. Guren's dog leapt onto Orochimaru's back and began to bite at its heads.

Several snake heads managed to rip the dog in pieces, but it divided and began to swarm the monstrous snake. A giant Kusanagi came out of several of the snake heads' mouths and began to relentlessly cleave at the dogs and Kimimaro's spike barrage. Much to everybody's surprise, the enormous serpent kept healing.

Orochimaru came out of an open mouth of the middle head again and began to laugh maniacally, "I am invincible! HAHAHAHAHA! Your attacks are useless against me…I am a god!"

Sasuke looked into the sky and looked over towards Kimimaro, "Hold him down Kimimaro!" The white haired man looked up at the sky and saw the thunderstorm raging. He immediately understood Sasuke's intent and began to create a massive bone prison to surround Orochimaru.

Kimimaro roared painfully spitting up blood as five enormous bone spikes erupted from the ground holding Orochimaru in place. "W-What are you doing?" Orochimaru asked worried as Sasuke began to channel his chakra. He tried to break from the prison, but was unsuccessful as Guren added to it, "Shōton: Suishōheki Hachi no Jin!" (Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Wall Eighth Formation)

Orochimaru was completely encased in crystal holding him still. He began to radiate purple and glowed powerfully with his remaining chakra surrounding the body of the massive snake. Orochimaru broke through both prisons and furiously began to slither towards Sasuke.

Trying to hold it back, Anko attacked, "Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" A massive fire dragon flew towards Orochimaru and temporarily held him still as it wrapped around his body. Kimimaro roared in agony as he leapt into the air and cleaved through several heads.

The white haired man puked up blood as he landed on the main head and formed a massive bone spike over his arm. Kimimaro repeatedly stabbed the head but was caught in the mouth of another head. It tried to swallow him, but as it did, spikes erupted from all sides causing the head to explode.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Guren summoned an ox and rhino to charge the snake. The surrounding heads warded off all of Guren's summons as they furiously hissed in anger.

"Just a little longer! Hold him back just a little longer!" Sasuke shouted as he channeled all of his chakra. The colossal white snake hissed loudly as Orochimaru spit Kusanagi at Sasuke. The Uchiha had no time to react to the blade as he channeled his chakra. To his utter disbelief though, Kimimaro stopped the sword.

Sasuke was shocked to see an impaled Kimimaro standing in front of him. The white haired man fell to his knees. Orochimaru looked towards Sasuke and began to laugh at the sight, "Kimimaro…still trying to a hero I see? YOUR DEATH IS AMUSING HAHAHAHA!"

Sasuke began to boil in anger at the sight, "DIE OROCHIMARU! KIRIN!" The sannin looked up in confusion as an enormous amount of lightning took the shape of a beast in the sky. It roared powerfully causing deafening thunder to echo. Orochimaru's eyes grew wide in horror as Kirin flew overhead and blasted towards the ground. A blinding light and a deafening thunderous roar were the only things anybody could hear or see as Orochimaru was completely obliterated in the blast.

After the attack, the white snake was gone much to everybody's relief. Sasuke panted heavily completely out of chakra. The Uchiha's Sharingan faded as he fell over and sighed in relief. Sasuke looked over to see Kimimaro lying on his back with Kusanagi sticking out of his chest.

Everyone immediately made their way towards the white haired man worried. Kimimaro's vision was hazy as he coughed up a massive amount of blood and began to bleed out. Tayuya knelt over horrified at the sight and began to shout, "NO KIMMY! GOD DAMN IT! YOU CAN'T DIE YOU ASSHOLE!"

She started trying to heal the white haired man but Kimimaro grabbed her wrist and shook his head, "I'm done for…don't bother, Tayuya."

The red head looked as if she was about to cry and shook her head emotionally, "No…you're my best friend Kimmy…you can't die!" Sasuke knelt over the white haired man and looked at him disbelievingly, "Why did you save me?"

Kimimaro glanced over at him and smiled, "I was dying anyways…My life is useless, but yours can make a difference." Guren knelt over the man and shook her head sadly as he pulled the sword from his chest. Anko stood several feet away and frowned.

Kimimaro handed Kusanagi to Sasuke and spoke softly, "Become the hero I never could…"

Sasuke nodded his head, "You are a hero Kimimaro…I won't forget your sacrifice."

Kimimaro smiled before puking up the rest of his blood and dying. Everyone felt a wave of depression hit them as they stared at the dead man. Sasuke shook his head in disbelief and turned around covering his face. Everyone watched sadly as Sasuke fought back tears.

The Uchiha looked at Kusanagi fiercely and spoke strongly, "With this blade…I shall fulfill my dream. Kimimaro's sacrifice will not have been in vain." Rain continued to pour heavily adding to the depressing atmosphere of the group.

Guren walked over towards Sasuke and looked at him for a moment. "It's not completely over…maybe Naruto can bring him back…" Guren suggested optimistically. Sasuke and Tayuya perked up at the suggestion. Sasuke's depression began to lighten slightly at the mention, "You think he would?" the Uchiha asked.

Guren nodded her head, "I'm sure he would…he brought me back after all…the problem is I don't know where he is…"

Sasuke took a closer look at her eyes and looked shocked, "You have the Rinnegan too?" Guren shook her head, "No…my eyes are probably an extension of Naruto's Rinnegan."

Anko looked confused, "How exactly does that work?"

Guren sighed, "I don't know…at any rate, I suggest we take Kimimaro's body and the hell out of here before…"

Just as Guren was about to finish her sentence, a large group of Ame and Kusa nin surrounded them. The shinobi briefly bowed to the group and started clapping much to their surprise. Everybody traded confused looks as the mob cheered at them.

Finally, their leader spoke up, "All hail the heroes of Kusagakure! Killers of Orochimaru!"

Sasuke looked over towards Guren and sighed in relief. Guren nodded her head at the man, "We were merely following the orders of our Lord, Pein."

The man smiled at the mention and nodded his head, "Lady Konan will be pleased to hear the news. The higher ups told us that Pein and Lady Konan decided to become allies. Long live our alliance!" The man placed a hand to his chest and nodded at the group.

He motioned for his men to follow him. As the shinobi passed, they continued to cheer at the group. After a minute, all of the nin left. Sasuke looked at Guren again and spoke, "We need to find him…you have no idea where he is?" Guren thought for a moment and nodded, "I have an idea…maybe he's at the Valley of the End. That's where the Taki nin we intercepted said he and Konan went."

Anko cheered at the suggestion, "Oh yeah I almost forgot about that!"

Everyone nodded in approval as Guren called her bird over. "We'll fly there to save time. Everybody get on…make sure Kimimaro doesn't fall off." Sasuke picked Kimimaro up and carried him onto the Guren's bird.

Sasuke looked back at the obliterated battlefield as they flew away and over Kusagakure. The destruction was everywhere, but he could make out the distant sight of people coming out of their homes and cheering.

The raven haired Uchiha looked into the sky as the rain continued to pour and sighed, '_Your days are numbered Itachi_…_'_

XXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was fast asleep on a couch near the unconscious Mizukage several feet away. A red headed woman strolled around the couch curiously as she examined the sight of a sleeping Naruto. She reached down and brushed her hand against his face, but immediately her hand was snatched and she was pinned underneath him on the couch.

Mei looked amused as he growled at her. After a brief moment, Naruto recognized the woman and let go of her wrists and sat up. "You didn't have to stop…" Mei smirked as she sat up and sprawled her legs over him.

Naruto looked over at her and sighed, "What do you want Mei?"

She placed her hands behind her head and sighed, "Well, I just saw you sleeping and…"

Naruto raised a brow at her, "And what?"

Mei smiled at him lustfully and shrugged, "Well I didn't get that far…yet."

Naruto eyed the woman up and down. Mei took notice of it and licked her lips as she stared at him. "You like what you see? I could help you finish that dream if you want."

"Don't you have things to be doing?" Naruto asked amused.

She nodded her head, "Yeah I do have _things_ to be doing…I wouldn't mind if you wanted to help." Naruto looked over at her and sighed, "I assume you want to talk to me?"

The woman smirked, "Well…we don't just have to talk…but yeah I wouldn't mind discussing a few things."

Naruto nodded his head, "Alright go ahead and say what's on your mind then."

"First of all, I want to know what you're going to do about Yagura. Are you going to kill him or try converting him or something?"

Naruto looked at the woman and shrugged, "That depends on how he reacts…first thing I want to do is ask him everything he knows about Madara." Mei nodded her head at his answer.

"So something else I wanted to ask you…how the hell did you bring Zabuza and Haku back from the dead?" Mei asked curiously. Naruto shrugged at her and sighed, "I used my Rinnegan…does it really matter?"

She smirked at him, "I guess not…okay next question, what exactly are you trying to do? I mean besides all of this Akatsuki nonsense…you have some kind of agenda?"

Naruto nodded his head, "Would you hate me if I said a cliché thing like world domination? Hmm, I have several agendas I am concerned about. First and foremost, I have to kill Madara and Akatsuki. If I ever manage to get that done, I want to defeat the Five Great Shinobi Nations…after that I'm not really sure."

Mei raised a brow at the mention, "No happily ever after? No big fancy marriage or anything?" Naruto shrugged, "I don't care about things like that anymore…I just want to destroy everyone who has ruined my life."

Mei rolled her eyes at him and laughed, "Oh, c'mon…you may end up settling down if you meet the right person." Mei sat up and began to straddle the jinchuuriki looking at him lustfully. Naruto looked up at her and smirked, "Oh…and who might this person be?"

Mei leaned in close to his face and began to lick the whisker marks on his cheek, "Maybe some gorgeous damsel in distress who was saved by a mysterious bad boy…maybe she has a dirty little crush on him and he doesn't know."

"Maybe he's got too much on his plate to care right now…" Naruto spoke softly. The red head was right next to his face and frowned at his answer. "So tell me why you don't you go by your real name?" Mei asked as she breathed on Naruto's face.

The jinchuuriki sighed, "My name is widely known by Konoha…I don't want them discovering the truth until the day of reckoning."

Mei looked at him curiously, "Sounds to me like you're afraid to face them…was there somebody you cared about back home?"

Naruto growled and pushed her off, "That place was NEVER my home…I don't have a home. As for people I cared about…that's none of your damn business!"

Mei cocked her head in confusion at the sudden change of tone in the Rinnegan wielder. "I didn't mean to pry…I'm just curious about you," Mei said sincerely. Naruto shook his head and sighed, "Look I can understand where you're coming from, but I rarely talk about my past to complete strangers."

"I understand how you feel…it's hard to trust anybody after being betrayed. I feel the same way about Yagura…he's done so many terrible things, but he isn't a bad person," Mei said sadly.

Naruto looked over at Yagura and back to Mei, "You don't hate Yagura for what he did to your clan?"

She looked down in shame, "The only thing I hate is the fact that I can't hate Yagura. I tried to convince myself dozens of times that he was the villain everyone claimed him to be...but he is not Yagura is a tortured soul."

Naruto glanced over at Mei and nodded his head, "We're all tortured souls…for your sake and for his, I'll try to show compassion when dealing with him."

The gorgeous woman stood up to take her leave, "I appreciate it Naruto…I just want you to know that you have my trust."

Naruto nodded at the woman as she walked away. When she got to the door she turned around and looked at him again. "Would it be alright if you and I could talk like this more often?" Mei asked

The jinchuuriki nodded his head, "I don't see why not."

Mei smirked as she walked out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXXX

A single white snake was slithering away from the aftermath of a great battle. The serpent got to the trees and reformed into the shape of Orochimaru. The sannin shook his head in disbelief as he sat down against the tree.

"DAMN IT! They defeated me…I should have taken Sasuke's body when I had the chance. He even has my sword now…how could this day get any worse?" Orochimaru shouted angrily to nobody in particular. He covered his face with both hands as the rain poured overhead.

Answering his question, a maw sprung from the ground in front of him catching his attention. Orochimaru shook his head at the sight, "Zetsu…oh great." The maw opened to reveal the black zetsu.

"Tobi wants to speak to you about Pein…" The dark Zetsu said callously. Orochimaru looked at the dark plant man curiously and sighed, "I'm in no position to tell him anything…I just had a near death experience with '_Pein's_' followers."

Zetsu looked at the snake sannin darkly, "You truly are foolish…do you even know who Pein is yet? Tobi knows who he is, and so do I."

Orochimaru perked up at the Zetsu's comment and sighed, "Just tell me what you know about Pein…and I'll do whatever Madara wants."

The dark Zetsu nodded and began to speak again, "Very well. Pein is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi…his name is Naruto Uzumaki. We recently learned from Tobi himself that Naruto is his grandson. Naruto also possesses the Rinnegan as you have no doubt discovered."

Orochimaru's eyes shot open in utter disbelief. "Naruto Uzumaki the Kyuubi kid? You mean to tell me that Pein the notorious S class criminal is that annoying brat? Somebody as insignificant and foolish as him doesn't deserve to have the Rinnegan!"

"He almost single handedly took on all of Akatsuki at the Valley of the End except for Tobi and myself. He defeated Itachi and Kisame and turned Deidara against us. Your disdain for him is pathetic…Naruto is far more powerful than you realize."

Orochimaru cocked his head in confusion, "So he is your enemy? I heard from my former minions that Konan took him to the Valley of the End to join Akatsuki."

"Tobi was under the impression that Naruto could be controlled, but he was mistaken. However, leader, doesn't seem very concerned about it. I'm sure he would be more than willing to explain himself to you." Zetsu said the last part sarcastically.

Orochimaru sighed as he shook his head, "Where is he now?"

"He and Sasori are on their way to Suna to capture the Kazekage. We are proceeding with the jinchuuriki plan." 

The snake sannin glared at the ground, "Sasori and Madara together? I am surprised Madara would partner with anybody." Zetsu shrugged at the comment and replied, "You and I are going to go find Tobi in Wind Country."

The snake sannin stood up and nodded his head, "Fine…it's not like I can stop Naruto by myself anymore now that all of my minions have betrayed me."

"Remember when I told you ten years ago that treating your minions as disposable pawns would bite you in the ass one day? Well this is prove of that." The dark zetsu stated coldly.

"Shut up Zetsu…let's just go," Orochimaru said in a depressed tone as he began to follow the plant man.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Bursting through the doors of the Hokage Office, a worried Kakashi began to speak up, "Tsunade, we have a problem!" Kankuro, Temari, and most of the Ame team were behind Kakashi. The Hokage looked at him irritated, "Has anybody ever heard of knocking?"

Of the Ame assault team, everybody was in attendance with the exceptions of Neji, Chouji, Anko, and Shizune.

The team had its old members consisting of Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Sakura, Yamato, Kakashi, and three additions new additions. Clad in green jumpsuits both wearing jounin vests were Rock Lee, and Might Guy (Talk about a man's name!) The third addition was a pale brunette man with a half shirt known only as Sai.

Stepping forward, Kakashi sighed, "Sasuke is missing…he left a note." The silver haired jounin walked over to Tsunade and handed her a slip of paper.

The Hokage snatched the note and read it aloud, "_To Konoha: I have left the village for the same reasons I did the first time around. I know that after three years you must have assumed I changed, but sadly I have not. I left to join forces with Pein and to kill my brother. I have no love for this village and refuse to show loyalty to the corrupted elders and to my feeble comrades. With the exception of Tsunade, I hope you all burn in hell."_

Everyone's eyes shot open in disbelief. Ino shrieked at the note, "Why would Sasuke write such a horrible thing? I thought he was back to normal!"

Sakura sighed deeply upon hearing the note and shook her head, "First Naruto and now Sasuke…" The pink haired girl sunk into a depressed mood.

"I haven't seen Sasuke-kun since we got back from the mission," Hinata stated.

Shikamaru shook his head and sighed, "Obviously, he's obsessed with finding Pein…I was incapacitated and didn't get a chance to see it for myself, but didn't Pein say he knew about Naruto's location?"

"H-he did?" Hinata asked hopeful. Kakashi nodded his head, "Pein saved our lives from Konan, but addressed us as trash…there is no telling what kind of a person he is."

"He glared at me like I had personally wronged him…" Sakura trailed off. Kiba ran a hand through his hair and laughed, "Sasuke has some nerve trying to leave Konoha again…I know Naruto would kick his ass and bring him back if he were here!"

Kakashi looked down in shame before speaking, "Respectfully, Tsunade-sama…I'd like to fill out my retirement forms as a jounin instructor and ask for reinstatement into Anbu. I have lost two of the most notable shinobi in Konoha under my tutelage and am unfit to teach anymore."

Everyone looked at Kakashi shocked by his request. The Hokage nodded her head, "We'll discuss that after your mission is complete. Also, let it be known that Sasuke is officially a missing nin now…Anbu will deal with him. You're all dismissed…guard the Kazekage with your lives until further notice."

Kakashi nodded his head, "We'll leave immediately Tsunade-sama."

Everyone nodded before leaving the office. A cough caught the blonde woman's attention turning her focus towards Jiraiya standing in the window. Tsunade looked at him and sighed, "At this point why am I even surprised? Next thing you know, Naruto will turn out to be bad or something crazy like that."

"He would never turn on Konoha!" Jiraiya stated assuredly. Tsunade nodded her head, "If he were here he would be talking about how he would bring Sasuke back and how…he was going to become Hokage…" Tsunade's eyes began to water as she looked down shamefully.

Jiraiya pat her on the back and sighed, "His name is still on the toad contract but they have been unable to find or summon him. The good news though is it confirms he is still alive."

Tsunade shrugged and sat down at her new desk, "It's been three years…if was able to come back by now, he would have. Wherever he is, I just hope he found some happiness."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Well I guess that's the end of the chapter…I'm really bad about making them too long. But oh well. Here's the usual chapter notes:

I know Killer Bee's rap was pretty corny but I put it together in like ten minutes. It sounded so much better in my head.

The secret Akatsuki Base turns out to be Hidan's house LOL…I hope you guys got a kick out of that one. I guess it makes you wonder about Jashin-sama…

Of course the highlight of this chapter was Naruto's Paths of Pain. There's a lot going on there…but yeah just in case you were wondering, Guren is the Animal Path, Haku is the Human Path, and Zabuza is the Preta Path. I'll just leave it at that…speculate all you want.

The Orochimaru battle took a long time to write so I hope you enjoyed it. Tayuya doesn't do much in the show besides Genjutsu, so I added a few things…I mean it is called a Demon Flute after all…although It's hard to do much with everyone else when Kimimaro is going beast mode.

Kimimaro sacrificed himself for Sasuke…how did that make you feel?

I probably psyched a few of you out when Orochimaru turned out to be alive BWAHAHAHA! He can't die that easily…he's the master of running away after getting his ass kicked.

Zetsu split in two…. Black Zetsu is a stone cold badass. I hope you guys enjoyed him insulting Orochimaru. Although now you're going to wonder where white Zetsu went.

Poor Tsunade…she's going to go grey from all the stress she's been putting up with. I hope you liked Sasuke's note HAHAHA…I could so see him writing something like that.

Anyways that was chapter number 13 for you…hoped you enjoyed it.


	14. Chapter 14

I'm glad everybody seemed to have a good reaction to the Paths of Pain coming in. I won't spoil it for you, but you'll like the end result I assure you. I know a lot of you are already guessing stuff. I won't confirm or deny anything except that Kimimaro will definitely become the Naraka (Hell) Path. Those of you who guessed that have good insight.

As for the other paths, You'll find out sooner or later. We still have Deva and Asura left. Also to answer this question for you...only Naruto can see the Rinnegan link through his paths of pain when he concentrates his Rinnegan. The others only see their own vision...well for now anyways. There will be other cool side effects once we get all six paths. Feel free to speculate all you want.

I don't remember who it was that said this…but yeah I have given a slight back story to most of the main characters that way they don't appear one-dimensional. Although it can't be avoided with some people…sue me. Anyways, the boring acknowledgements are finally over…

**Chapter 14: Tobi is a Good Boy**

Kakashi and the Konoha team were making good progress towards Suna along with a platoon of Suna jounin. They had been running since they left much to everybody's disapproval. Kankuro and Temari were leading the pack at a crazy speed to reach Suna faster. They had been on the run for hours and everybody was tired from the looks of it.

Finally, Kakashi spoke up, "Can we take a break? Everybody looks exhausted." Looking back at him, Kankuro nodded his head and held his arm up. Everybody immediately stopped and looked at him awaiting orders.

"We're going to take an hour break…eat a snack, take a piss, do whatever you gotta do, because this is the only stop we're making," Kankuro stated seriously. Everyone began to disperse into their usual cliques. The Konoha team all sat down underneath a large tree in the shade. Ino panted, "We only get an hour?"

"Let's enjoy a youthful break!" Lee shouted cheerfully. Everybody face palmed at him. Shikamaru shook his head and sighed, "I want to talk about this Konan chick…how the hell did she break out of my shadow techniques so easily?"

Kakashi looked at the man and shook his head, "From what I was able to identify with my Sharingan, she is capable of folding her chakra into that paper. Konan was able to disperse all of her chakra and reform it behind you. I've never seen anything like it before."

"How is that even possible?" Ino asked confused. Yamato acknowledged her comment, "Something about that chakra paper seemed strange. It seems likely that it is a forgotten kinjutsu."

"She was toying with us…Konan could have easily killed me but chose not to. Same thing with Sakura, Yamato, and Shikamaru…you're only alive because she wasn't trying to kill you," Shino stated coldly.

"Don't say things like that Shino, we put up a good fight!" Ino said optimistically. Kakashi shook his head at the comment and sighed, "Shino is right…Konan was toying with us for fun. It's almost as if she was waiting for something."

Yamato cocked his head at Kakashi, "You don't think that she knew Pein was going to show up do you?" The silver haired jounin nodded his head, "That's exactly what I think…none of that makes sense though because Pein saved us and fought her…she could have easily killed us before he got there."

"Konan probably wanted eyewitnesses…" Sakura began slowly. Everybody turned to look at her confused. "Eyewitnesses for what?" Kiba asked.

"For her power…she said that she wanted the Kages to take her seriously," Sakura continued.

Gai nodded his head, "I certainly take her seriously…from what I've heard, she killed Hanzo the Salamander."

"She is the one who killed Neji-san…" Lee said sadly. Gai placed a hand on his pupil's shoulder, "We've been over his Lee…Neji and Chouiji died upholding the Will of Fire."

Lee nodded his head and sighed, "You're right Sensei…we'll honor their memory and their sacrifice."

Shikamaru and Ino looked distantly sad at the mention of their dead team mate. "At least she got what she deserved," Shikamaru said proudly. Everybody nodded their heads at his comment. "I just wish Pein would have died too…I can't believe he's still alive after all of that!" the shadow user sighed.

Kakashi sighed deeply and spoke up again, "Jiraiya told me something interesting that I think all of you should hear about…"

Everybody looked at Kakashi intently. The silver haired jounin began to speak, "Apparently, Konan was one of Jiraiya's former students. He didn't give me the details, but I did learn that Konan was actually his second apprentice after Yondaime."

"She's dead now so I don't see why that would matter." Shikamaru stated darkly.

Yamato nodded his head at the mention, "Shikamaru is right. Konan is dead and there is no point in trying to humanize her. We should be more concerned about Pein."

"I wonder what's up with that Pein guy…he was pretty scary looking," Sakura began.

Ino smirked at the mention, "He was pretty exotic looking. I mean did you guys see his eyes?"

"We've had suspicions for months, but after seeing him for myself, I know for a fact that Pein has the Rinnegan," Kakashi cut in. Everyone focused their gaze on the jounin.

"What is the Rinnegan exactly, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked confused. Everybody nodded their heads at the question eyeing Kakashi awaiting his answer.

Kakashi sighed deeply, "The Rinnegan is a bloodline that many consider a legend. It is apparently the same one that belonged to the Sage of Six Paths. The Rinnegan is the most powerful doujutsu ever known." A loud chorus of gasps followed the statement.

Sakura shook her head, "No way…you mean to say that the Sage of Six Paths was real?"

Kakashi nodded his head, "For all we know Pein is the Sage of Six Paths."

"I call bullshit!" Shikamaru stated irritated. Everybody turned their attention to the shadow user as he continued, "The Sage of Six Paths is a myth…even if Pein does have this supposed Rinnegan, it is probably just a mutation."

Sakura looked over at him skeptically, "If it's a mutation then it would have had to come from the Sharingan or the Byakugan because they are the only two doujutsus I've ever heard of."

"Listen to yourself Sakura…you're saying that Pein is somehow related to Konoha. I'm pretty sure we would know if somebody of that caliber ever existed in Konoha," Shikamaru explained. Hinata cut into to the conversation unexpectedly, "Doesn't that contradict your own theory though, Shikamaru?"

The lazy genius eyed her perplexed, "I just refuse to believe that some random legend is conclusive evidence that there was a Rikudo Sennin. I mean that's just stupid...do you honestly think that there was a shinobi who supposedly had godlike powers?"

"How would you know?" The Hyuuga asked calmly. The shadow user crossed his arms and huffed, "Whatever..."

Kakashi nodded his head at Shikamaru, "You're probably right, Shikamaru…although, Pein has more chakra than anyone I've ever seen. I am pretty sure we would have spotted somebody like that in Konoha in the past thirty years."

"Pein certainly didn't have a high opinion of us," Shino added coldly.

"He did save us though…and does anybody remember when Pein told Anko he 'owed her a favor?'" Sakura asked the group.

Everyone's attention focused on the pink haired girl as she began again, "I think Anko left because she knows who he is…my theory is that she knew him from when she served Orochimaru. I mean those Oto nin were following Pein around so she must have seen him before."

"That's ridiculous, Sakura…Anko clearly went to Kusa so she could track Pein's followers and locate Orochimaru," Shikamaru replied. The pink haired girl sighed deeply, "Apparently Sasuke did as well…"

"Why would Sasuke leave to join him?" Lee asked confused. Shikamaru answered him, "Sasuke hasn't changed…he confirmed it himself. He wants power to kill his brother and he hates Konoha. Pein appears to have similar goals, so Sasuke likely assumed Pein would accept him as a subordinate."

"I'm more interested in what Sasuke asked Pein…didn't Pein say that Naruto was dead? What do you think senpai?" Yamato asked Kakashi.

The masked jounin shook his head, "I have no idea…Jiraiya and I have had long discussions about this, and he claims that Naruto is alive because his name is on the Toad Summoning Contract still…"

"Why can't they just summon him?" Sakura asked confused. Kakashi shrugged, "Jiraiya said they don't know. Although there is no doubt about it...he is alive."

The entire group perked up at the news, "Why would Pein lie then?" Hinata asked. Shiakamaru sighed heavily, "So Pein knows Naruto…it seems likely that Sasuke left to find out what happened to Naruto as well."

"Pein is probably holding Naruto captive or protecting him…since Pein has been linked towards the disappearance of several jinchuuriki, we can likely assume he has Naruto as well." Kakashi began.

Everyone looked confused at Kakashi's comment. Sakura scratched her head, "Wait…what? Naruto is a jinchuuriki?"

"What the hell is a jinchuuriki?" Ino asked confused. Everyone stared at Kakashi intensely.

"A jinchuuriki is a person who has a bijou sealed inside of them. The name literally refers to the sacrifice it etches on that person's humanity. Naruto is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi," Kakashi answered.

The entire group with the exception of Yamato and Gai were shocked at the news. Sakura shook her head in disbelief, "So…Naruto has the nine tails sealed inside of his body? How did that happen?"

Yamato answered her, "Yondaime didn't defeat the nine tails like your generation believes…instead he sealed the fox into his infant son at the cost of his own life."

There was dead silence following the explanation. "Naruto is the fourth Hokage's son?" Sakura shouted in disbelief. Kakashi nodded his head and pulled out a picture from his pack. It was a picture of him, Obito, and Rin with Minato.

"That's Yondaime…his name is Minato Namikaze. He is indeed Naruto's father." Kakashi said.

Lee looked at the picture and smiled, "Naruto looks just like him…why doesn't anybody know about Naruto being his son?" the green clad ninja asked.

Gai responded to Lee's question, "Most likely to avoid a war…if Iwa learned that Yellow Flash had a son they would start a war with Konoha."

"Why would Yondaime-sama seal a demon into his son?" Hinata asked sadly. Yamato looked down and sighed, "He made a sacrifice…it's not like he could have asked anybody else to put that burden on their child."

"Hold on a second! Why haven't we been told about this before?" Ino asked skeptically.

Kakashi answered, "Sandaime passed a law that prevented anybody from speaking about the Kyuubi upon penalty of death. He wanted Naruto to have a normal childhood. Although the older generation bares a lot of hatred towards him. They see him as the Kyuubi itself believing he is the demon."

"So that's why everybody hates him?" Shikamaru asked. There was dead silence after his question.

"That's ridiculous…Naruto-kun is not a demon!" Hinata stated slightly angry. Shino nodded his head, "He's a lot of things, but a demon isn't one of them."

Sakura looked down in shame, "My mother is a civilian…she always told me to avoid him when we were kids."

"I can't believe that knucklehead is the son of the fourth hokage…hahaha, do you know how famous he'd be if the village found out?" Kiba tempted amusedly.

Kakashi shook his head at the group, "Don't go around telling people…it's considered an S class secret in the village. The only reason I'm bringing it up now is because Naruto has been gone for three years, and as his closest comrades you all deserve to know."

Sakura thought about it, '_So that red chakra…it was Kyuubi's. Then my mom was wrong…Naruto isn't a demon_.'

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

In the city village of Amegakure, waves of reinforcements had been arriving the past few days. Up in the palace, Konan sat casually on her throne with her legs crossed. She twirled a kunai bored as her mind started to wander, '_Naruto, why didn't you just accept the deal? Things could have been so much easier…damn it why am I thinking about him? I don't need him…hmph._'

Drawn from her thoughts, Konan felt a hand brush through her hair. She looked up darkly to see Shizune sitting on the arm of her throne sprawled across her lap. "Is there something you need, bitch?" Konan asked annoyed.

"Yeah, I just wanted to have a girl talk with you," Shizune replied with a genuine smile. "Not interested, get off of me before I kill you, Shizune," Konan threatened.

"Oooh so scary…I'm surprised Naruto-kun put up with that kind of attitude," Shizune giggled.

"What did you just say?" Konan demanded fiercely. "I mean he is pretty forgiving...but oh so captivating," Shizune said in a girly tone.

Konan punched Shizune in the face and sent her flying across the room. The medic nin smashed into the ground but managed to flip back up. Konan and Shizune stood across from each other staring.

Shizune wiped some blood from her mouth and smirked at Konan, "Did I hit a nerve there? Hahahaha...If I was there I would have fulfilled my dark fantasies and slept with him. If we see him again I may have to seduce him..."

Konan growled at the woman fiercely, "You won't lay a fucking hand on my man!" The medic nin burst into a wide grin upon hearing Konan's confession. The blue haired woman just realized what she said out loud and regretted it immediately. "Did he steal your heart Konan? Did he promise you the world and fuck your brains out?" Shizune asked sadistically.

"So…what's it to you?" Konan asked at the medic nin. "I've always had a fascination with Naruto-kun…but seeing him the way he is now turns me on."

"I really don't like whores…if you touch him I'll hang your head on my wall!" Konan yelled.

"What's wrong Konan? Can't handle a little friendly competition? Are you afraid that he may like me more than you?" Shizune asked.

"Naruto would never like somebody like you...especially after what you've done to him. Your jealousy is pitiful and pathetic," Konan said darkly.

Shizune glared at the woman icily, "No! How dare you accuse me of being jealous of you!"

Konan replied skeptically, "Why are you so upset then?"

Before Shizune could respond, Hidan and Kakuzu walked into the room. "We almost ready to go Konan?" Hidan asked bored.

"Yes, we're going to go address the invasion force and then we'll begin our march to Iwa. However, before we go, all of you need to be given your assignments."

Everybody quietly stared at Konan. "Alright, Kakuzu, you are going to go capture the five tails…I assume you know where it is right?" Konan asked.

Kakuzu nodded his head, "He's usually in Iwa…I'll take care of him."

"Okay, Hidan and Shizune, you two are going to capture the four tails," Konan looked back and forth between the two. Hidan sighed, "You mean the hermit guy who lives outside of the village? Damn…that's boring."

"What is he capable of, Hidan?" Shizune asked. The priest shrugged, "I don't remember, some lava bullshit or something."

"How come Kakuzu is getting the five tails by himself?" Shizune complained. Konan glared darkly at the woman, "Kakuzu is far more reliable than either of you. He'll be entering the village with me and tracking down the five tails while I capture the village."

"C'mon Shizune, why do you gotta be so negative…it'll be a fun fucking experience," Hidan laughed. Shizune glanced over at him and crossed her arms, "Don't even try it…" Hidan winked at her and blew a kiss, "Oh no…I wouldn't dream of it bitch."

"You have your orders…once you've acquired your targets bring them back to the village. Don't bother waiting for me. Madara will be able to restrain them in his chakra chains once he gets here, so keep a close eye on them."

"You're not worried about the Tsuchikage?" Hidan asked. Konan shook her head casually, "No I 'm not…when I lived in Iwa, I discovered a weakness to dust release…Onoki is in for one hell of a surprise." All of a sudden, an Anbu captain ran into the room and bowed low to Konan. She eyed him curiously as he stood in front of ther others.

"Yes captain?" Konan asked seriously. The Anbu captain began slowly, "Lady Konan...we found your mask." The Anbu Captain held up Hanzo's breathing mask. The blue haired beauty took it from him and inspected the mask. It was covered in burns and scrapes, but the village symbol remained identifiable. Konan smiled as she stared at the mask, _'My mask...I am glad it's still intact.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXX **

Naruto was relaxing at a sauna in one of the extended rooms outside of the house. His mind wandered at the thought of Konoha. Mei's words affected him more than he cared to admit. Part of him just wanted nothing more than to see some of the people he used to care about.

More specifically, Naruto was thinking about Iruka, Jiraiya, Tsunade, his old team, and the owners of his favorite ramen stand. '_I wonder what they'll say when they find out who I really am._'

"**They will be in awe and cower in despair! I eagerly await that day…HAHAHAHAHA!" **The fox laughed maniacally.

'_Eventually, I will return to Konoha…I haven't really decided how to do it yet.' _

"**Well I would recommend razing the village and killing everybody in sight…but I'm guessing you'll take a more pacifistic approach."**

'_I haven't forgotten the sins of that village…retribution must be paid, but I don't intend on slaughtering everybody.' _Kyuubi huffed at his comment, **"No…of course you don't."**

'_Shut up and let me enjoy my quiet time…'_

Drawn from his thoughts, Naruto heard the door opening. (**WARNING OMG LEMON SCENE! I know it's been a while)**

Stepping into the room, a certain brunette woman closed the door behind herself. Naruto looked up, "Haku? What's up?" The woman locked the door before walking over to Naruto. She saw him in nothing but a towel and smiled as she looked over at him, "You've done a lot for me over these past few years."

"You're a good friend Haku. I appreciate all you do," Naruto replied.

Haku eyed him lustfully, "I just want to show you how much I care about you…" As she finished her sentence, Haku opened her robe and cast it the floor revealing her well toned but milky smooth body. The jinchuuriki admired the sight of the woman before him. She smiled at the look on his face and spoke up again, "Like what you see?"

Naruto stood up smiled at her, "You've been wanting to show me for a while now huh?" Haku nodded her head and licked her lips, "Maybe I have."

Naruto walked over to the woman and cupped her cheek and held his face close to hers, "All you had to do was ask…" There was a brief moment of staring until suddenly, Haku smashed her lips against his and jumping into his arms. Haku's hand ran through Naruto's hair and down his back as he crashed against the wall. The jinchuuriki fell to the ground as he and Haku kissed passionately.

Haku forced her tongue deep inside of his mouth and explored every corner of it. The ice princess ran her hands over Naruto's bare chest and stomach as she savored the taste of his lips. Naruto and Haku's tongues battled for dominance as they made out on the floor. The jinchuuriki began to massage her bust as they kissed causing the woman to moan passionately. Haku traced across his arms as he continued stroking her breasts. Then she spontaneously pinned Naruto's arms and straddled his waist as they continued kissing.

She was caught off guard by the large bulge coming from the towel and yelped in surprise. Seizing the moment, Naruto flipped their positions and now had her pinned down. Haku moaned loudly into the kiss and eventually gave in to their tongue battle. Her entire body was searing hot as she began to moan into the kiss again.

The ice user arched back as Naruto's tongue massaged the inside of her mouth. They briefly broke the kiss for air panting heavily. "Make love to me, Naruto…" Haku whispered as she stared into his eyes longingly. Naruto inched close to her face again and breathed heavily as he replied, "I will Haku."

Haku's legs wrapped around Naruto's waist as he lifted her off the ground and pushed her up against the wall. She took this opportunity to wrap her arms around his neck. The two continued to make out again. After another passionate tongue battle, Haku pushed Naruto off of her and got on her knees in front of him.

She pulled the towel off of his waist and stared at his erection hungrily. "Oh my god…it's so big," Haku gasped as she stared at Naruto's manhood. She grabbed his erection and squeezed it proudly looking up at him. "Can I suck it?"

Naruto silently nodded his head. Haku positioned Naruto's cock in front of her mouth and slowly started to wrap her lips around the head. She took her time enjoying the soft groan coming from Naruto as she slowly began to bobble back and forth on it.

Haku slowly sucked Naruto's manhood for a while, and then began to speed up. As her pace changed, a pleasured grunt escaped his mouth much to Haku's approval. Adding to it, Haku began to start pumping the base of Naruto's cock. The woman enjoyed every second of the endeavor as Naruto grunted and moaned from the pleasure.

Finally, after a while, Naruto grabbed the back of her head and pulled her up. She giggled in delight as he pushed her against the wall and started to grope her bust. One hand slowly began to massage her moist entrance as Naruto sucked on her nipple. Haku cooed from the pleasure, "Oooh yeah…mmmmm!"

Naruto's fingers were soaked from Haku's dripping wet pussy as he began to play with her clit. He then stuck a finger deep inside and caused the girl to tense up as he felt her inner walls. "Oooh! Naruto, stop teasing me!" Haku shouted. Naruto smirked as he wrapped both hands under Haku's legs and lifted her against the wall. Haku nervously spoke up as he positioned himself at her entrance, "Ummm…Naruto, I don't know how to say this. I'm a virgin." He nodded his head in understanding at the woman, "Don't worry I'll go slow, Haku."

The way he said her name made Haku melt into his arms as he looked into her eyes. "You ready?" He asked. Haku nodded her head slowly and yelped in surprise as he entered her. At first, the slow penetrations were extremely painful. Each thrust caused her to grit her teeth as he continued. Naruto studied her reaction carefully and whispered, "Just let me know if you need me to stop."

She shook her head at his words, "No…don't stop." Haku bit her lip as this continued for a little bit. After a while, Naruto's pace began to increase and Haku felt the pain diminishing. The uncomfortable feeling diminished and changed to pleasure as Naruto went faster.

"Ahhh! Oh my god!" Haku screamed as the pleasure began to ripple throughout her body. Haku began to buck into his thrusts as Naruto started to go faster and faster. Each penetration went deeper and deeper. Finally, Haku squealed, "Oooah! I'm cumming!" Her walls tightened around Naruto's cock causing him to groan in pleasure from the tight constriction.

Haku leaned her head back and giggled from the moment as she gazed into Naruto's eyes. The pair began to kiss again and made out for a while until Naruto pulled back. She looked at him curiously as he guided her towards the wooden bench. Naruto bent her over it and slapped her ass causing her to shriek from the brief pain. "Ready for round two?" Naruto asked as he squeezed her butt.

"I want more..." Haku whispered distantly. Naruto ran a hand across her entrance feeling the soaking wet lips. "Oh fuck!" Haku shouted as his fingers gently traced her pussy. Between the warm steamy sauna and gentle caressing, Haku was losing herself in the moment.

Without warning, Naruto then grabbed either side of her ass and began to fuck her from behind. Haku was caught of guard from the penetration and gasped in surprise as Naruto fucked her from behind. Haku felt a warm feeling build up in her stomach as he continued.

Naruto would occasionally smack her ass causing her to yelp in simultaneous pain and pleasure. "Ooooh Yeah keep going just like that!" Haku shouted at him. Naruto smirked at her comment and slowed down, "Just like what now? I'm sorry I didn't hear you…"

"Harder! Faster!" Haku yelled causing his pace to speed up again. An insatiable tingling feeling enveloped Haku's entire body again as Naruto repeatedly slammed into from behind. She gritted her teeth from the unbelievable ecstasy. "I want more! Fuck me harder!" Haku shouted much to her own surprise.

Naruto reached over to her shoulders and spread her legs wider as he began to slam her pussy rapidly. This didn't last long before Haku screamed, "AHHHHH! OH FUCK OH FUCK! OOOOAH!" She felt another orgasmic wave of pleasure drown her body in pure bliss.

Naruto came into her as her walls constricted around his cock. His searing hot and sticky seed completely filled her. Finally, Naruto pulled out of her. He sat down and leaned his head against the wall as the steamy room began to make him tired.

Haku got up and sat next to him leaning into his arms afterwards. She looked up at him and kissed him on the lips as they silently soaked in the steam from the sauna. Finally, after several minutes of silence, Haku stood up and retrieved her robe. She smiled happily as she turned around to look at the man sitting against the wall, "Thanks, Naruto…this means a lot to me."

Naruto smiled back at her and nodded his head, "Thanks for coming by Haku." The woman blushed as he stood up and put on his towel. Naruto then sat back down on the wooden bench in the sauna.

Haku made her way to the door and looked back proudly, "I'll see you later…Naruto." (**LEMON IS OVER**)

As Haku left the room and closed the door behind herself, she saw a shadow running around the corner. Haku looked curiously over in the direction of the corner, and saw none other than Yugito trying to look casual as she walked towards the hot spring.

Haku stood there and stared at the jinchuuriki curiously before Yugito looked up at her. "What the hell do you want?" Yugito asked icily as she glared at the brunette.

"Umm…nothing, I was just wondering what you're doing out here all alone?" Haku asked as she eyed Yugito suspiciously. The blonde woman smirked at her and crossed her arms, "I could ask you the same thing…what's with the bath robe?"

Haku raised a brow at the woman and laughed, "Snooping around the sauna is going to create to some odd rumors about you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yugito asked as she glared at Haku.

"Whatever…" Haku muttered as she walked away. As she walked to go into the house, a certain red head intercepted her and raised a brow as she examined Haku's appearance, "Where've you been? And where the hell is Naruto? I need to speak with him."

"He's somewhere around here…" Haku shrugged as she pushed past the red head. Mei huffed in annoyance, "Yeah whatever…bitch."

Mei walked over to Yugito and asked, "Hey, Blondie, where's Naruto at?" The jinchuuriki growled at her, "How the hell should I know?"

Answering Mei's question, Naruto came around the corner from the saunas in nothing but his towel and looked at Mei curiously, "What's up Mei? Is there something you needed?"

She briefly examined his well toned physique, but was most captivated by the seal on his stomach. After a moment of staring, Naruto spoke again, "Err…was there something you needed Mei?"

She laughed in response, "Oh sorry…I was distracted by that seal on your stomach…anyways, your green-haired girlfriend said it was your turn to watch Yagura again."

"He's still not awake?" Naruto asked confused. Mei shook her head, "No…he was recovering, but your pretty boy Deidara said that he was talking in his sleep and suddenly he has a high fever."

Naruto shook his head, "Damn…that's not good. I'll go figure this out." Naruto walked past Mei and headed inside as Mei eyed his shirtless back. Yugito looked over at her annoyed, "What the hell do you like so much about him!"

Mei glanced over at the blonde woman amused, "What? What kind of question is that?"

"Don't even play innocent…you've been eyeing him like a piece of meat ever since you've joined this little group," Yugito shot back. Mei crossed her arms at the woman, "So what? Why does it bother you when I look at him like that?"

Yugito's eyes narrowed into a cold leer, "You're so shallow…"

"Maybe I am…maybe you are," Mei concluded.

"I am done talking to you," Yugito huffed as she walked away. Mei walked back inside the house shortly afterwards. Unbeknownst the them, Zabuza was a short distance away writing in a book with a wide grin on his face. '_Chronicles of the Super Pimp…Chapter Ten: Alpha Female!_'

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Itachi and Kisame were casually walking along a trail in Lightning Country. The shark nin looked over at Itachi and chuckled, "So how do you want to handle the jinchuuriki, Itachi?"

The Uchiha shrugged casually, "The patrol said he returned to Kumogakure…if that's the case then he probably knows we're after him. I'm guessing he has returned to the safety of his village."

Kisame laughed at the mention, "What a coward…well since he's in the village that means we'll probably have to face the Raikage and the whole village too."

Itachi sighed and nodded his head, "We'll do whatever it takes…I would prefer to avoid heavy civilian casualties seeing as how they draw too much unwanted attention."

"Well one of us is going to have to handle the Raikage…and the other one will get Killer Bee. Which one would you prefer, Itachi?" Kisame asked as the pair continued walking. Itachi glanced over at the shark swordsman and replied, "I'll handle the Raikage…you're better suited to capturing the jinchuuriki anyways since you have Samehada."

Kisame nodded his head and smiled, "Yes, I'll take care of the eight tails then!"

"Stay close, Kisame…it would be catastrophic for us to get separated during this," Itachi explained calmly. Kisame nodded his head, "I got your back Itachi."

There was a brief silence before Itachi spoke up, "Kisame…I have a question for you." The shark nin looked over at the Uchiha curiously. "What is it?"

Itachi slowly began, "Why are you so loyal to Madara?"

Kisame looked confused at the question, "I don't understand what you mean…he's our leader, and we do what he says. Why are you asking?"

"I'm just curious to know what you think of him," Itachi stated.

Kisame shrugged, "He's the most powerful person in the world Itachi…why do you think I follow him."

The Uchiha nodded his head and responded calmly, "It just seems like there's more to it than that. You insult him a lot, but you never question his orders. I've never asked you this before…but how exactly did he recruit you?"

Kisame sighed heavily as he looked at Itachi. There was a long silence before he finally began, "That's not important Itachi. My past is not something I feel like discussing...even with you."

The Uchiha nodded his head as they continued onward in silence.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Madara and Sasori were slowly walking up to the outskirts of Suna. The Uchiha was wearing his traditional orange swirled mask to conceal his identity from people.

The two walked up to the gates casually causing the guards to trade concerned glances. "Halt! Who the hell are you two?" One guard asked.

Sasori looked at him and smiled, "They call me Sasori of the Red Sand…"

Both guards burst out laughing at the puppet master and traded amused smirks as the red head calmly stared at them. "Get a load of this kid? He says he's Sasori of the Red Sand…HA!"

The other guard laughed and replied, "You're pretty stupid kid…Sasori is probably in his late thirties by now!"

Sasori held both of his hands up and smiled, "Well then…I guess I'll have to kill you. Suffer well." Sasori fired chakra threads from each hand onto both of the guards and took complete control over their bodies. They both found themselves being lifted in the air and each drew a kunai.

As realization struck the guards, they both slit their own throats and fell over dead. Madara looked at Sasori and laughed, "You're so cool Sasori-senpai."

The red head looked over at him and raised a brow, "Umm...Are you joking?"

"Nah Nah! You're the greatest!" Madara laughed. Sasori smirked at him, "Did you hit your head when I wasn't looking?"

"Go get the Kazekage!" Madara said in a carefree tone. The puppet master looked at him bewildered, "Ummm…sure thing Tobi."

The two missing nin casually walked into the city after killing the guards. They received many strange looks from civilians as they made their way to the Kazekage's Tower. A random jounin jumped in front of the pair and shouted, "They killed the guards! These men are missing nin!"

The outburst caused civilians to scatter in every direction as a wave of jounin surrounded the duo. Sasori looked around casually, "Where is Gaara?"

A jounin looked at him curiously, "You have spilled the blood of the gate guards! That obligates us to kill you on sight!"

Madara remained silent and looked at Sasori. The red head spoke up again, "We're here for the Kazekage…try to stop us and you'll die."

The jounin growled angrily and dove at Sasori with a blade drawn. Just as he was about to reach him, Sasori caught him in mid air with chakra threads and forced him to turn around. "Let's see how you feel about killing your friends."

The puppet master shot a wave of chakra threads in all directions and managed to string several more jounin. Sasori forced his temporary puppets to kill their brethren.

This continued briefly until a huge wave of sand gripped Sasori tightly. Standing a few feet away, Gaara came walking over with a pissed look on his face, "Get the fuck out of my village!"

Suddenly, Gaara threw Sasori as hard as possible flying out of the village. He looked over to see Madara gone and growled. Gaara formed a wave of sand around his feet and flew out of the village after Sasori. He spotted the Puppet Master standing a considerable distance away from the gate and landed nearby.

Sasori looked at him amused, "So you'd rather fight out here and prevent village casualties…how noble. You're only making this easier for me..."

"Who are you?" Gaara asked menacingly as he glared at the man. Sasori smiled at him and spoke up, "You look a lot like your father you know…I used to know him."

"You don't look very old," Gaara commented as he continued glaring. Sasori shook his head, "My name is Sasori of the Red Sand…I'm thirty five years old."

Gaara's eyes shot open in shock as he recognized the name. The jinchuuriki stared Sasori down intently and asked, "I'm assuming you are part of the group after jinchuuriki?"

Sasori nodded, "Yes, and I intend to capture you, Gaara."

"Die!" Gaara shouted at the puppet master as a massive hand of sand erupted from the ground and shot towards Sasori. He managed to avoid the attack, but the sand continued following him. The jinchuuriki growled furiously as the massive sand hand hovered over Sasori's head.

He brought it down to crush Sasori, but the puppet master managed to evade it.

Sasori smirked as Gaara sent another barrage of sand at him. He dodged it skillfully and danced around the sand. He calmly chuckled at Gaara as this continued, "Interesting strategy you've got there Gaara…however, I don't ever get tired."

The Kazekage glared at him and sent a blanketing wave of sand to cover Sasori. Gaara managed to surround Sasori in a ball of sand and slowly began to constrict it. Much to his own surprise though, it exploded with hundreds of puppets flying out.

Gaara looked around shocked as the puppets hovered over his head. He looked over towards Sasori's position to see The man's cloak removed. Gaara's eyes shot open wide at the sight of Sasori's body. "You're a puppet?"

The puppet master nodded his head, "There were many advantages to doing this to myself…I am the greatest puppet master in the world."

Gaara saw the opened compartment on Sasori's chest with hundreds of Chakra strings flowing into it.

"I don't have time for this shit! You're going to die for killing villagers here!" Gaara yelled.

"Normally I don't use myself...but you are more than worthy enough for it," Sasori stated calmly. A massive storm of wood, steel, and sand clashed everywhere as the two juggernauts began to battle.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Upon finally reaching Suna, the Kazekage protection team saw a massive battle waging in the distance between Gaara's sand and hundreds of puppets. Kankuro's eyes shot open in horror as he witnessed the sight, "What the hell is that? GAARA IS IN DANGER!"

Before they could move forward, a man jumped in front of them and laughed, "Sasori-senpai doesn't like to be interrupted." Madara stated amused as he eyed the large group of nin.

"That's THE Sasori fighting my brother?" Kankuro asked amazed but horrified. Temari looked at Kankuro, "Go get Chiyo now! Tell her that Sasori is here! She'll know what to do!"

A random Jounin spoke up, "What about the Kazekage?"

"He can hold out until we get there. We'll handle this guy first!" Temari shouted.

Kankuro nodded his head and ran towards the village along with the platoon of jounin. Madara comically tripped one of the jounin as they ran past him. The Uchiha laughed as the sand nin ran towards the village.

Kakashi looked at Madara incredulously, "Why are you after jinchuuriki? Who the hell are you?"

"My name's Tobi…I am a super cool member of Akatsuki! I enjoy long walks on the beach and hanging out with friends! What brings you guys to Suna?" Madara said cheerfully causing everybody to eye him confused.

"This guy is just fucking with us!" Kiba shouted as he glared at the masked Uchiha. Madara shook his head and laughed, "Tobi is a good boy."

"Why you! Stop fucking with us! Tell us what's going on!" Kiba shouted at the man. Shikamaru looked over at him and scolded, "Kiba you idiot…he's obviously trying to distract us from protecting Gaara! "

Shikamaru went through several hand seals, "Kagemane no jutsu!" A long stream of shadow caught Madara's feet causing Shikamaru to smirk at him. "Kagemane successful…you guys go help Gaara, I'll hold him here!"

The group started to run past the masked Uchiha until suddenly, Madara appeared in front of them again and started laughing, "Hahahaha! Tobi is a good boy and isn't allowed to let you pass!"

Shikamaru's pride was hurt as he looked shocked to see Madara free of his shadow technique. "Damn it!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Who is this guy?" Ino asked as Madara began to burst from the ground all around them slapping them randomly.

Kiba roared at the man and charged, "Gatsuuga!" The man spun towards Madara, but phased right through him much to everybody's shock.

"That was a direct hit!" Gai shouted in disbelief. Madara appeared behind Gai and sat on top of his shoulders, "Sup big man! Do you think Tobi is super cool?"

Gai flung around in shock before Madara appeared next to Hinata and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Oooh! A Hyuuga! You must be super powerful! Nice rack by the way!"

Hinata tried to punch the man but her arm went right through him to her utter shock. Sakura shook her head at the sight, "That went right through him!"

Madara appeared in front of Kakashi and laughed, "OOOOH you're the copy nin Kakashi! Can I have an autograph?" Madara pulled a paper and a pen out of nowhere and held it up to Kakashi. The jounin looked shocked.

Yamato seized the opportunity to wrap wood around Madara. "I've got him…take him down!" Kakashi charged a chidori and tried to stab through Madara's chest only to have it hit nothing.

"He just disappeared!" Hinata shouted worried as she looked around with her Byakugan active. Shikamaru looked around confused, "He is using some type of transportation jutsu…I've never seen anything like this!"

Suddenly, Madara appeared in front of Shikamaru and kicked him super hard in the shin.

The lazy genius grimaced in pain and grabbed his leg as Madara giggled, "Feel the wrath of my shin kicking jutsu!"

Madara rapidly appeared all around them and kicked random people in the shin. Gai looked around distressed, "His speed is unreal!"

Madara reappeared in front of Sakura and started ruffling her hair, "Pretty pink hair! Barbie ninja extraordinaire!"

She tried to punch him, but was shocked as Madara phased through it and tripped her. "No need to get angry pretty lady…Tobi is a good boy!"

Shino launched a large wave of bugs to surround him as the Uchiha reappeared in front of the group. He flailed at the bugs with his arms as they surrounded him, "Ewww! Bugs!" The insects surrounded Madara and tried to suck his chakra, but instantly dissipated revealing Madara to be gone.

"What the hell is with this guy? He just keeps disappearing?" Temari shouted in disbelief. Suddenly, Madara appeared in front of her and took her fan. Temari was pissed as Madara ported a considerable distance away and started laughing, "OOOOH this is the coolest fan I have ever seen!"

"Give that back you sick fuck!" Temari shouted angrily. Madara complied by appearing next to Shikamaru and smashing the closed fan against his face causing him to go flying.

Gai managed to catch him in midair.

Madara then opened the fan and made wild flurries with it causing everyone to be pushed back from the gusts. "This is so super cool! Can Tobi keep this?" Madara asked as he stood in front of Temari. She growled in irritation at him, "NO! Give that back you psycho!"

"But…but Tobi is a good boy!" Madara faked being hurt. Lee and Sakura made a mad dash to run past Madara, but he managed to smash both of them with the fan stopping them in their tracks. Finally, he threw the fan back and decked Temari in the stomach with it.

The woman doubled over in pain as she fell to her knees. There was dead silence among the members of the group as they stared Madara down angrily. Kakashi shook his head at him, "Who's the leader of Akatsuki!"

"Leader-sama is the leader of course!" Madara said comically causing everybody to face palm at him. "Is your leader Pein?" Kakashi asked eyeing the masked Uchiha intently.

Madara laughed at him, "Our leader is leader-sama!"

"Damn it answer the fucking question you masked weirdo!" Temari roared angrily at the Uchiha.

"Do you at least know Pein?" Sakura asked. Madara warped in front of her and pat her on the head, "Silly Barbie Ninja, Everybody knows Pein." Sakura tried to swat his arm away, but he phased through her and appeared next to Ino. The blonde looked at him awkwardly as he grabbed her pony tail, "You Konoha shinobi really take good care of your hair…what shampoo do you use?"

Ino tried to kick Madara but was unsuccessful as he easily avoided it. She reared back to punch him, but Madara caught her fist and chuckled, "You have nice skin too…what lotion do you use?"

Everyone tried to dash at Madara, but he teleported away from them to the front of the group again.

"Is Pein really the Sage of Six Paths?" Kakashi asked worried.

"Pein is the single greatest dancer in the world…hahaha!" Madara giggled at the group as he started to dance.

"Gai-sensei, this guy is very youthful!" Lee laughed. Gai shook his head at Lee's comment, "Don't be fooled by this…he is probably very powerful."

"This guy is trying to keep us from my brother…ignore him!" Temari shouted as she attempted to dash past Madara. The Uchiha appeared in front of her and bopped her in the head causing her to fall on her ass. Temari looked up angrily, "Get the fuck out of my way!"

"Don't be mad at me. Tobi is a good boy!" Madara shouted.

She glared as she jumped back to the group, "I've had enough of you!" Temari suddenly sent a massive gust with her fan towards the Uchiha.

He was completely unaffected by the wind and shook his head, "You're pretty heartless for such a pretty lady…you don't like Tobi?"

They could see the battle waging behind Madara and grimaced at the sight of Gaara's sand warding off Sasori's puppets. Sakura dove towards Madara with her fist raised, but to everybody's pure shock, Madara caught it. The pink haired girl looked at him surprised as he held her fist.

She tried to pull it back, but Madara held her hand in place. "Ughh! Let go of me!"

Madara twisted her arm and brought her down to the ground immediately wagging a finger at her, "Pretty girl, why are you so angry at Tobi? Tobi is a good boy!" Sakura tried to pull Madara down into a punch, but the Uchiha wouldn't budge. Instead, Madara reversed the move and chucked Sakura at Shikamaru.

"Tobi is a good boy! Believe it!" Madara cheered humorously. (Damn right he just said that!)

Kiba growled at the man again, "Will you stop fucking saying that? Gatsuuga!" He spun towards the Uchiha again, but was shocked when Madara grabbed his arm stopping the attack.

"Bad Dog! Bad!" Madara back handed Kiba sending him flying towards the others. Akamaru barked loudly upon seeing Kiba get smacked.

"Just who is this guy?" Shikamaru asked as Kiba landed on the ground in front of them. "Attack formation three!" Yamato shouted as he shot wood around the Uchiha. Shikamaru shot another Kagemane at the Uchiha as everybody made angled approaches at him. Madara yawned as he looked over at the battle between Gaara and Sasori.

Ino went through several hand seals and shouted, "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" (Mind body switch technique) Madara wasn't expecting it and was hit by Ino's jutsu. The blonde girl found herself in Madara's mindscape and looked around confused. She wandered around Madara's mindscape interested. '_Why the hell haven't I taken his body over yet? Where am I?'_

Her question was answered when she saw flashes of Madara's recent memories. She witnessed the huge battle in the Valley of the End and was shocked to see Pein battling all of Akatsuki. She witnessed the flashes of the fight through Madara's eyes and was shocked to see Shizune standing next to her smiling.

'_What the hell? Is this the Valley of the End? Wait a minute…that's Konan...and Shizune! Oh my god that's PEIN!' _Ino was horrified as she saw the battle unfold. Before she could realize that Pein was Naruto, Ino's vision was consumed by a spinning Sharingan.

She heard an unfamiliar voice yell angrily at her, "GET OUT OF MY MIND YOU BRAT!" Suddenly, Ino was forced out of Madera's mindscape and back into her own body. She was surprised to see that Madara was completely restrained by Shikamaru, Yamato, and Kakashi.

Yamato's wood was wrapped around the man and Shikamaru's Kagemane held him in place. Kakashi's chidori was sticking through Madara's chest much to her own surprise. Madara instantly dropped the Tobi persona and yelled at Ino, "You little bitch! How dare you invade my mind!"

Shikamaru smugly spoke up, "Everybody's already passed you by…your friend will be in a lot of trouble soon. You've been defeated." Madara immediately disappeared leaving the group in shock. Kakashi walked over to a horrified Ino and offered her a hand, "Are you okay?"

The young woman had blood leaking from her shirt as she stood up. "I'm sorry that my chidori hit you, Ino…but I had to land a blow on that guy." She nodded her head and felt the injury. "It's not too bad…I'll be okay." Ino started to heal the area.

"What happened in his mind?" Kakashi asked. The girl shook her head in disbelief, "I saw memories...I don't know. There was this huge battle at the Valley of the End…Pein was fighting these people in black cloaks with red clouds…he won I think. I couldn't hear anything, but I saw Konan there…and Shizune too!"

"Woah slow down, Ino! Run that by me again?" Shikamaru asked disbelievingly. She shook her head and sighed, "I don't know what happened…all I saw was Pein battling a bunch of those cloaked guys in the Valley of the End."

"Pein and Konan are both alive...and Shizune is a member of Akatsuki," Kakashi said aloud almost in disbelief.

Yamato looked concerned, "This is urgent…we need to find out what happened!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kankuro was leading an old woman and a large group of jounin through the gates of the village. The woman shook her head disbelievingly as she witnessed the massive amount of puppets clashing against Gaara mercilessly.

"You did good bringing this to my attention, boy…tell your men to stay back, you and I will have to go in and handle Sasori." Chiyo said as she witnessed the battle wage.

Meanwhile, over with Gaara, he and Sasori had been going back and forth a while. The puppet master relentlessly assaulted Gaara with his puppets. Gaara's sand was barely able to block all of the shrapnel raining everywhere.

The battlefield was covered in debris from the destroyed puppets, but much to the Kazekage's annoyance, the puppets continued appearing. Sasori took pride in Gaara's expression and responded, "You look like you're getting tired Gaara."

Gaara rose on a pillar of sand and sent a raining wave against all of the puppets. A good portion of them were caught in the sand before the jinchuuriki clamped his fist smashing the puppets inside of them. Sasori smirked as Gaara started to suck up a massive amount of sand from beneath his feet. The red head rose on a massive swirling dune as he glared at his enemy.

He used the entire landscape to try and attack Sasori. The puppet master's propellers started spinning and he flew into the air to avoid the ocean of sand trying to envelop him. Sasori's puppets followed him as he circled Gaara on the sand pillar.

"You're really starting to piss me off…" Gaara said annoyed. As Sasori circled the jinchuuriki, two small cannons came out of his hands. The angry Kazekage conjured massive sand arms to snatch the puppet master out of the air.

As they got close, Sasori fired a compressed water blast at the incoming sand arms completely cutting them in half. The puppets continued to rain on Gaara as Sasori circled faster firing the compressed water. The intense pressure from the cannon blasted through a good portion of Gaara's defenses, but were unsuccessful in hitting him.

Sasori continued his assault, but was caught off guard by a massive gust of wind sent him and his puppets flying away from Gaara. He landed on the ground and looked surprised as he saw Temari, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Gai, and Hinata jump in front of Gaara.

The jinchuuriki lowered himself from the massive sand dune and looked at the others surprised, "What are you doing here Temari? I thought I told you to stay in Konoha."

She crossed her arms and shook her head, "The Mizukage was abducted…we were not going to let that happen to you."

"I'm fine…this guy is just going to hurt you guys. Stay back," Gaara ordered. Sasori watched the scene in amusement and held both of his arms up. Before anybody noticed what has happening, Sasori fired a massive blast of fire from his arms.

Gaara's sand shot up to block the blast. He was surprised by the heat behind the fire as his sand turned to glass. The Kazekage continuously reinforced the barricade with more sand as he looked at the others, "If you're here to help, find a way to stop him. I've been battling this guy for a while now."

Suddenly, a compressed water blast from Sasori's arms shot through the sand shield and shattered the formed glass. Everybody dispersed as the water actually managed to hit Gaara.

The puppet master sent his puppets to attack the new arrivals, but a combination between Gaara's sand and Temari's fan warded most of them away. Kiba was about to charge at Sasori before a hand grabbed him, "No boy, Don't go near him!"

Everybody stopped what they were doing and turned to see the newly arrived Chiyo and Kankuro. Sasori looked at the woman and laughed, "Grandma? You look so old!"

She looked shocked at Sasori's appearance and shook her head in disbelief, "You haven't aged a day! Sasori what have you done to yourself?" She shrieked in disbelief as she noticed Sasori's puppet body and and a lot of puppets strung into him.

"Isn't it obvious grandma? I became perfect…One can not truly master their art unless they become a part of it!" Sasori said proudly.

"You're outnumbered Sasori…even you can't take on all of us!" Chiyo shouted.

The puppet master looked at everyone amused as he nodded his head, "You're right…this calls for something special." Sasori pulled a scroll of his back and summoned the third Kazekage.

The sand nin immediately recognized the puppet. "No…Sasori that's the Sandaime Kazekage! How did you defeat him?" Chiyo shouted in horror.

"I'll admit, he put up a good fight, but the Kazekage here eventually died from chakra loss…I turned his body into a puppet and now I have his powers!" Sasori smirked. Chiyo looked horrified as she replied, "How...you cannot possible have the Sandaime Kazekage's powers?"

Gaara watched stared the puppet master down darkly as he gathered more sand.

The puppet's mouth began to open and iron sand leaked from it. Chiyo shouted at everybody, "Stay back! That's iron sand it's magnetic!" As the sand leaked from the Puppet's mouth, Sasori shook his head, "Don't cheat grandma…that ruins the fun!"

Gaara held his hand up to the others and shouted, "Get the fuck back! You're getting in my way! I'll handle this guy!" Everybody fearfully followed Gaara's command. Sasori looked at the Kazekage and smiled, "Your whole family seems to have a pole wedged up their ass…"

Temari and Kankuro traded looks of disbelief as Gaara growled at the man. "I've had enough of you! Die!" Gaara focused all of his sand and everything in the surrounding area to completely envelop Sasori. The puppet master watched amused as the sand began to surround him again. A massive tsunami of Gaara's sand covered the puppet master.

Before it could do anything, iron spikes erupted out of Gaara's sand along with Sasori. The puppet master laughed at Gaara, "Satetsu Kesshū!" (Iron Sand Gathering) Sasori formed several massive weapons out of the sand much to everybody's surprise and began to assail Gaara rapidly.

A whip of iron sand smashed through his ultimate defense and cracked his sand armor. Meanwhile, a huge lance of iron sand pierced an adjacent angle on Gaara's sand shell. Sasori smirked as he punched holes in Gaara's defenses.

Wasting no time, he sent his remaining puppets to all simultaneously stab at Gaara. Much to his complete annoyance, another gust of wind blew them away. Sasori held one of his hands up and fired a compressed water blast at the group without even looking.

It nearly hit them, but was barely blocked by a massive wall of sand. Sasori turned his arm back towards an exposed Gaara and managed to blast him again with the attack as his iron sand weapons mercilessly berated the Kazekage.

"Why the hell do we have to stay back?" Kiba shouted annoyed as he glared at Chiyo. She shook her head and answered, "We'll get in Gaara's way. He's already straining to protect us from Sasori."

"Yosh, Kiba-san is right! We can't just stand back and watch!" Lee shouted at the woman concerned. Gai placed a hand on Lee's shoulder, "Don't be reckless Lee…there's more to him than that."

Chiyo shook her head at Lee, "Every single one of Sasori's puppets and he himself are drenched in poison…I wouldn't recommend you go anywhere near him."

"It's a little late for that…" Kankuro stated as he pointed towards Sakura charging the puppet master's blindside. Chiyo looked at Temari and sighed, "Give her cover girl! And watch out for that iron sand!"

Kankuro was about to summon his puppets when Chiyo held a hand up to him, "No…Iron sand renders puppets unusable…you should stand back until that Kazekage puppet is dealt with."

Gaara looked pissed as everybody jumped into the fray. Distracted by his frustration, he was unable to block a poison coated iron sand lance piercing into him. Gaara felt a strange numbness washing over his body and turned his head in shock as he saw a poison-coated blade sticking through his shoulder next to the iron sand lance. An overwhelming drowsiness overtook the Kazekage and he immediately passed out from the poison.

The others were unable to get close to Sasori as his puppets warded them away. Sasori laughed as Gaara fell over unconscious, "Well it seems the great Kazekage falls at last!"

A loud growl terrified the group as all of the sand in the area began to merge into Gaara. Everybody watched in despair as Gaara transformed into Shukaku. Sakura looked horrified remembering the sight and shook her head in fear. Temari and Kankuro fearfully watched as the one tailed beast was completely in control.

The Bijou looked down at everybody and laughed, **"Freedom at last! Now all of you will die!"**

Sasori shook his head and sighed, "Well shit..." Before the bijou could do anything, a huge nexus appeared above him in the sky. Shukaku was immediately sucked into the air by the swirling portal. Black flames completely enveloped the one tailed raccoon as it levitated off the ground. Adding to this, chains rained from the nexus and completely wrapped the bijou. Shukaku roared in agony at the pain, **"NOOO You cannot defeat me!"**

Sakura looked around in confusion to see what was causing the attack until suddenly she spotted the masked Akatsuki member holding his arm up as he glared at the transformed Gaara. Everybody attempted to rush Madara, but were blocked as Sasori created iron sand walls to hold them back.

Shukaku continued to burn from the black flames as it finally reached the portal in the sky. The bijou was sucked inside. A demonic high pitched wail could be heard from the inside the portal, **"You will suffer for this!"**

Everybody including Sasori watched in awe as the beast was launched full force from sky portal and crashed back into the earth. Black flames and sand flew everywhere from the shockwave creating a brief sandstorm. The Konoha shinobi stood back as the black flames cut them off from Madara and Sasori.

Everybody watched in horror as Madara and Sasori walked over to see the bijou continuing to burn in agony from the flames. Shukaku tried to stand up, but was stopped as Madara surrounded the beast in more chakra chains. Madara then drew a sword out of nowhere and held it up high. The black flames formed around the black blade causing the sword.

Shukaku attempted to form a tailed beast ball as he faced Madara and Sasori, but was unsuccessful as Madara appeared in front of the bijou and sliced its head off causing the sand to dissipate. Shukaku's body continued to burn until finally, the sand receded and fell off of the Kazekage. As it fell, Madara stopped the black flames around the jinchuuriki's location.

The Uchiha threw Gaara over his shoulder and looked at Sasori, "Let's go…"

Sasori nodded his head and resealed his puppets. Madara shook his head at the puppet master and sighed as he handed Sasori his Akatsuki cloak, "Sloppy work Sasori…what would you do without me?"

The entire Konoha team as well as half of Suna's armed forces ran around the black flames and surrounded the duo. Kakashi shook his head in disbelief as he started yelling, "What is this! How did you do that? Just who the hell are you?"

Madara shook his head at the masked jounin and laughed, "Tobi is a good boy…you bitch!"

"Just how the hell do you plan on getting out of here alive?" Shikamaru demanded. The Uchiha sent a cold glare towards the shadow user and laughed, "Make my day kid…one more smug comment from you and you're dead!"

Everybody shook in terror from the killer intent radiating from Madara. The Uchiha looked around curiously, "Where is the bleach blonde whore that tried to invade my mind? Hand her over and I might spare the rest of you!"

Ino was standing behind several rows of jounin, but suddenly, Madara appeared behind her and put her in a headlock. The Uchiha instantly returned to Sasori's location and laughed as he held a struggling Ino, "We have what we came for. I'll spare the rest of you fools for now…the next time you see me, I want you to cower in despair as I burn Konoha to the ground!"

The copy nin was eyeing Madara in disbelief as he stared at the eye hole in his mask, "That's a Sharingan!"

Ino tried to wriggle free from Madara's headlock, but was unsuccessful as he chopped her in the back of the head knocking her out cold. He then threw Ino, Gaara, and Sasori through a small portal. Everybody eyed the sight in horror as Madara laughed, "Oh and one more thing…" he threw a kunai as hard as possible and hit Shikamaru in the chest causing him to cry out in agony.

"Konoha bitches don't get to talk down to me…" The Uchiha then vanished. The shadow user fell over and started choking heavily as blood poured from his wound. Instantly trying to salvage the situation, Sakura ran over and applied pressure to his wound. Several Suna medics joined her and worked to stabilize the Konoha jounin.

All of the Konoha nin rushed over to him with worried looks on their faces.

The medics yelled for them to get back.

"Damn it don't die you lazy good for nothing jerk!" Temari yelled at the shadow user.

Several recently arrived elders walked over to Kakashi and shook their heads. One elder spoke up horrified, "I can't believe they just abducted the Kazekage!"

Chiyo walked over to the masked copy nin and shook her head, "You said that man had a Sharingan? The Uchiha Clan is almost extinct though…it couldn't have been Itachi Uchiha could it?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No…I've met Itachi, and that wasn't him."

"This is a god damn disaster…I mean look at that fucking shit!" An elder yelled angrily as he pointed to the black flames blanketing the landscape.

"What are we going to do?" Another elder spoke up frantically. Gai walked over and shook his head, "Tsunade-sama needs to hear about this."

Yamato nodded in agreement, "There is apparently a second Uchiha in Akatsuki besides Itachi. The Hokage might know somebody who fits the profile."

The elders all looked concerned. Chiyo looked at the others and sighed, "This isn't the place for discussing these matters…we're going to Konoha to discuss these matters with the Hokage."

Several elders traded concerned looks, "Who'll watch the village then?" One man asked. Temari answered, "They already have Gaara…they have no reason to come back here."

Chiyo turned towards the bulk of the Suna jounin and shouted, "All of you return to the village! Double up on all the gates and entrances to the village!"

Over with Shikamaru, the medics took over for Sakura after she became exhausted. She looked over into the distance and started staring at the black flames continuing to burn the demolished landscape. She waved everyone over, "Kakashi-sensei, why are those flames black? And why are they still burning?"

"DON'T TOUCH IT! Those flames aren't like regular flames…I saw what they did to Gaara. They most likely burn for a long time," Kakashi stated.

Kankuro looked at Temari and shook his head shamefully, "We weren't able to do anything to help Gaara…I can't believe this."

"I won't lose another comrade!" Lee shouted sadly as he balled his fists and stared at the flames.

Temari tried to lighten the mood, "He'll be okay…Gaara's tough. We just need to find him."

"Did you just fucking see what that guy did? I thought Sasori was bad enough, but that masked guy took Shukaku down in like two minutes!" Kankuro shouted in disbelief.

"Why was he acting like an idiot earlier?" Sakura asked confused. Kakashi looked at her and shook his head, "I don't know…it seems like he was trying to downplay his power."

"That was quick thinking on Ino's part, although it was very suicidal…now that man has her," Shino stated seriously.

Hinata sighed and spoke up, "Shino-kun is right…mind transfer if extremely dangerous, especially on somebody like that."

"She said she saw of that man's memories, but now we won't be able to ask her about them," Yamato stated.

Kakashi just shook his head, "These missions just seem like one disaster after another."

Chiyo whistled loudly catching everybody's attention, "We need to set out to Konoha as soon as possible! I'm sorry…I know you Konoha nin just got here, but this is urgent."

"What about Shikamaru?" Kiba asked as he looked over at the wounded jounin. A random medic spoke up, "His condition is stabilized, but he isn't fit to travel unless he has constant supervision."

Chiyo looked at the man and sighed, "Then come along and bring the man home."

The medic had an annoyed look on his face but bowed nevertheless, "Yes Chiyo-sama."

Kakashi nodded his head and addressed his team, "Everybody let's head out…let's restock and head back. We can camp out tonight."

Afterwards, the group spent a brief hour gathering necessary traveling goods before heading out towards Konoha.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Madara appeared next to Sasori a considerable distance away from Suna. The puppet master looked at him amused and shook his head, "I'm surprised you decided to help me…"

"You were taking too long," Madara stated plainly as he picked Gaara and Ino up. The Uchiha threw both of them on opposite shoulders before turning back to look at Sasori.

The puppet master shook his head at the man and laughed, "If you could fast travel like that this whole time, then why the hell did we walk here?"

"There was no rush to retrieve Gaara…not to mention, I want the simultaneous village attacks to cause a Kage Meeting," Madara answered.

"Why were you acting like a dumbass back there?" Sasori asked. Madara crossed his arms and smirked, "I originally intended to down play my role in Akatsuki but your failure to capture Gaara quickly enough ruined that plan…"

"Oh okay…I thought your IQ dropped by a hundred points or so. By the way what's with the girl?"

"The little bitch had the nerve to use a mind transfer on me…" Madara began.

Sasori started laughing at him and shook his head, "Wow…you really got hit by one of those?"

"She caught me off guard…those Konoha nin are so weak that I didn't even bother taking them seriously."

Sasori laughed at him, "Wow…the great Madara got hit by a mind transfer jutsu? I don't really know what to say to that. Why didn't you just kill them?"

"No, why kill them now. They need to report back to Konoha on what they've seen. I want them to cry in despair as the foundations of their pathetic villages crumble around them…I want to see the look in their eyes when they come to recognize that I am the architect of their destruction." Madara said darkly.

The puppet master nodded his head and chuckled, "Nice speech Madara…anyways why didn't you kill the girl at least? She did invade your mind after all."

"Mind controlling techniques are only known to exist among the Yamanaka Clan…and myself. Why destroy something I can use?" Madara asked rhetorically. Sasori shrugged, "I'm tired of all these wailing bitches you keep abducting…what do you intend to do with her?"

"Shut up Saso-bitch…Blondie hear is going to have a life changing experience when I'm done talking to her," Madara stated casually.

"So…Black flames. Are those Amaterasu's flames? I thought only Itachi possessed that ability from his right eye." Sasori commented.

Madara shrugged at the puppet master, "I have an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan…I taught Itachi almost everything he knows…Is it really any surprise that I can use Amaterasu?"

"Hmmm…I thought it was a specific ability from his own Sharingan though."

Madara shook his head, "I am the founder of the Uchiha Clan…do you really think I am weaker than Itachi?"

"Why have I never seen you do it before?" Sasori asked. Madara laughed at him in response, "Hahaha…there's no reason to unveil my powers unless necessary. If you were better at doing your job then I wouldn't have had to drop my cover to save your candy ass!"

"You're an asshole for making me damage countless puppets in my collection when you could have just easily gone in there and did that fancy shit and saved time," Sasori stated annoyed.

"I'm the leader…I don't have to do all the labor for a reason," Madara stated.

"I hate you…" Sasori sighed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Guren, and the Sound team were flying high over the crater that used to be the Valley of the End. The crystal user looked impressed at the destruction. Sasuke shook his head as he looked at the statues of Hashirama Senju and a partially destroyed statue of Madara Uchiha.

"Naruto and I fought here over three years ago..." Sasuke said slowly as he pointed at the statues. Tayuya looked at him interested and nodded her head, "You had quite a few spectators watching it from what I hear."

"Is this the place where he kicked your ass?" Anko asked amused as adjusted her trenchcoat from wind. Sasuke nodded his head, "He went through so much trouble to bring me back...and then he leaves right afterwards. I have dreams of our battle every single time I go to sleep."

"Dirty dreams?" Anko teased causing Sasuke to raise a brow. The raven haired Uchiha looked down at the statues, "What could have possibly happened here?"

Guren answered his question casually, "Naruto happened...I mean who else could do something on this scale?"

"That means he got into a fight..." Tayuya stated. Sasuke shook his head at the destruction and sighed, "Well now what? There's obviously nothing here but bad memories..."

"I have an idea..." Guren began. Everybody eyed her curiously as she continued, "We need to return to Oto and fortify the village. Afterwards, I can try to catch some crossfire reports about where Naruto is."

"I have never been to Oto. I wouldn't mind checking the village out...not to mention flying all day makes my legs stiff," Anko stated.

"Are you sure about this, Guren?" Sasuke asked as he continued staring at the Valley of the End. The woman nodded her head in response, "I've somehow got this feeling that Naruto will be able to find me."

"Well what the hell are we waiting for...let's head north and get to the village!" Tayuya cheered.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Well that's chapter 14 for you. I spent a while with this one, but hopefully you'll enjoy it. **Here's the usual chapter notes/comments:**

Another lemon for you guys. I know some of you have been craving some more of the romance instead of the constant battles. Glad to finally see Haku got her some action from Naruto. I wonder what Yugito was doing hanging around the corner? I hope you guys enjoyed the lemon. If not then oh well...I am not here to write a smut novel. Fear not though...Mr. Rinnegan man whore will get plently more action.

I've got to ask this...who enjoyed Madara being Tobi for half the chapter and then turning into rogue badass godmode Uchiha? Hahaha I had a cheap laugh or two writing that part. He essentially kicked their asses without having to do anything. I hope you guys don't mind too much. Yeah as for Madara's powers...I have no clue what the hell he is capable of besides his space time stuff. I know that Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi are Itachi's powers, but I figured what the hell...why not give them to the guy who has an "Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?"

Why doesn't Kisame want to talk about his past? Why is Itachi so curious? Why am I asking pointless questions?

Sasori vs Gaara may not have been as drawn out as it should of been, but whatever. Now Chiyo has an active role with Konoha...I wonder how that will pan out. Yagura has a fever...this should be interesting hahahaha!

Madara abducted Ino...feel free to determine the purpose. I wonder what Akatsuki plans on doing with the jinchuuriki once they capture them...you'll have to wait and see!

I know everyone can't wait for the BIG reunion with the sound group...fear not, for that will come soon enough. Anyways, I've said enough. I hope you enjoyed Chapter 14. Love you! *blows a kiss*


	15. Chapter 15

Well…you people probably hate me for that super long delay. It's been a long time since I last updated. I won't bother trying to come up with some elaborate excuse. The reason I didn't update is because I was preoccupied with my social life and college and I needed a break from this website. I tried to make up for it by giving you guys a super long chapter.

Well without further ado, here is the LONG (AND I MEAN LONG!) awaited chapter fifteen.

**Chapter 15: Akatsuki's Wrath**

Itachi and Kisame walked silently along a road in Lightning Country. They spotted Kumogakure in the distance. The two missing nin stopped in their tracks as they stared at the village.

Itachi had an apathetic expression on his face as he looked over the landscape. Kisame had a slight smile as he shook his head amused, "Well Itachi, how do you want to handle this?"

The Uchiha thought for a moment, "Normally I would advise using stealth and secrecy, but that might not be a good idea for this situation. Our target is very powerful and is most likely protected by a company of Anbu. We need to create a distraction to cause mass panic."

Kisame was practically beaming at the suggestion, "I like the way you think, Itachi. I have just the thing for that!" The Sharingan user raised a brow as Kisame turned to face him. "What do you have in mind, Kisame?"

"Get on my back…we're going surfing!" Kisame stated as he knelt down.

"You realize that this is a village full of lightning users and that water conducts electricity right?" Itachi asked.

Kisame nodded his head, "I'm counting on it…"

Itachi thought about it for a moment and understood the swordsman's intent. "I understand."

"Good! Let's fuck this place up Itachi!" Kisame cheered as Itachi got on the shark nin's back.

Kisame went through several hand seals and focused an enormous amount of chakra before firing it from his hands and mouth beneath him. He and Itachi began to rise on a column. It wasn't long before Kisame had created a massive wall of water. The giant wave continued to grow in size as moved..

Before long, the Tsunami picked up incredible momentum and was arching towards Kumo at blazing speed. Itachi barely caught the expression of mortified gate guards as the wave smashed an enormous chunk of the wall and began to flow through the village. Cries of terror rang out in all directions as the tsunami crashed against the large mountain beneath the Raikage tower.

Itachi took this opportunity to get off Kisame's back as the two stood on the mountain wall. Itachi briefly looked down and saw most of the lower areas of the village flooded.

He turned his gaze towards Kisame and spoke calmly, "I have a new plan. If we create two massive terrorist attacks simultaneously at different locations in the village it might separate the Raikage and the jinchuuriki. I need you to cause as much destruction as you can in the lower village and then leave immediately through the west gate. I know for a fact that they will come after you. Give them a good chase Kisame."

The shark nin nodded, "Alright, but what are you going to do Itachi?"

The Uchiha turned his gaze up at the Raikage Tower, "I am going to meet the village council."

Kisame couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Itachi committing acts of terrorism. Both men gave one final nod at each other before separating.

Itachi made his way up the mountainside until he reached the Raikage tower. As soon as he arrived at the front door he was surrounded by a dozen guards. "Men! He's after Lord Killer Bee attack!" The leader shouted.

The Kumo nin tried to attack Itachi but were unsuccessful as he skillfully dodged their lightning attacks and weapons. Wasting no time, Itachi engulfed them with a massive ball of fire. He casually walked up the steps and kicked the doors of the Raikage tower down.

Itachi saw several secretaries and Kumo genin scream in horror as he launched another fireball. Several people managed to take cover but some of the newly arrived jounin were not so lucky. Itachi didn't bother mopping up the meager resistance that the incoming waves of Shinobi threw at him.

He continued calmly up the stairs occasionally throwing a stray kunai at people rushing his flanks. Finally, he reached the doors the Raikage's office and kicked them open. The doors flew off their hinges and out a window behind them. As he walked into the office Itachi was greeted with something he did not expect to see.

Killer Bee was casually rolling around on his older brother's office chair as he penciled over a notepad. Itachi raised a brow curiously, '_Why is he being so casual about this?_'

Killer Bee finally looked up and noticed a blank faced Itachi staring at him. He leaned back in the chair and chuckled, "So you fools finally decided to show your asses? What have you done with Yugito?"

Itachi's face remained emotionless as he answered, "Come with us and we will leave the village alone. If you refuse more innocents will die."

The jinchuuriki shook his head and began to rap:

"Now everybody from AKATSUKI,

Put yo motha fuckin hands up and get on yo knees,

You better not hesitate, you better not flee,

Or you'll get your ass beat by Killer Bee,

Look at this pretty boy trying to stand tough,

You fuck with my village and shit's gonna get rough,"

Before Killer Bee could continue rapping, Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan activated.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, Kisame was adding to the massive flooding in the lower ring of the village. The shark nin laughed maniacally as he rode waves of water over houses and countless villagers. Several jounin tried to stop him, but he easily dispatched them with Samehada.

"DIE!" Kisame roared as he clubbed his wrapped sword against a poor chunin who dove at him. Afterwards, the swordsman leapt off the wave and landed on a high rooftop. He could see countless villagers swimming around like a school of fish. He found the similarity ironic seeing as how he himself was the shark.

"YOU DARE TO ATTACK MY VILLAGE?" A very well built dark skinned man roared from behind Kisame. The shark nin turned around casually and examined the source. He was not surprised to see the shirtless Raikage, but he was not expecting the two men flanking him.

"Nice to meet you Raikage-sama, would you kindly direct me towards the eight-tails please?" Kisame laughed in a mocking tone.

A became extremely pissed from the mocking and began to shout, "You bastards dare to kidnap my daughter and now assault my very village? You have some nerve if you think you can defeat us!"

Kisame turned his attention towards the Raikage's two guards Darui and C, "So you decided to bring back up with you. I would have thought a Kage of such incredible strength and prowess would be able to stop one member of Akatsuki by himself," Kisame mocked amused.

Darui raised a brow at the shark nin, "What are you doing with jinchuuriki?"

"What are you doing with jinchuuriki?" Kisame mocked.

A began to boil in rage before he charged the shark nin full speed. Kisame barely managed to dodge the Raikage's attack in time as he leapt into the water.

"He's a fool if he think he can escape me in the water!" A shouted furiously.

C looked shocked by the Raikage's anger and cut in, "Wait! There are countless civilians in the water! We can't electrocute him without causing heavy casualties!"

This caused the Raikage to become even more furious as he chased the swimming Kisame. Darui and C followed him. Even the Raikage had a hard time catching up to Kisame in the water. The shark nin created more and more as he continued and before long there was another massive wave crashing through Kumo.

Kisame deliberately made sure to damage as much as possible as he zigzagged away from the Raikage. Blinded by his rage, A didn't even notice that Kisame was slowly inching towards the border of the village. Finally, Kisame blasted out of the southern gate and continued till he flew over a cliff edge.

Before his pursuers continued after him A stopped briefly and looked at Darui, "GO MAKE SURE MY BROTHER STAYS IN THE VILLAGE! You're in charge until I get back!"

Darui nodded as the Kage and C followed Kisame.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Back in the village, Itachi's Sharingan forced Killer Bee into his stage two cloak. The jinchuuriki and the Uchiha were exchanging attacks as they battled on the summit of the burning Kage Tower. Killer Bee was actually slightly serious as he stared down the Uchiha, '_A Sharingan…this must be Itachi Uchiha. I have heard nothing but bad things about him.'_

"**Give me control Bee, I can defeat him."**

'_I can't…Bro would never forgive me if I had a full transformation in the village_.'

Itachi's eyes began to bleed profusely as he stared the jinchuuriki down. Before Bee had time to react, Amaterasu began to launch flames at him. Killer Bee was grazed by the attack but it did not stop him as he charged Itachi.

The grey haired man was slightly surprised to see the flaming jinchuuriki unfazed by the fire. "You have been taught to bear great pain eight tails…I admit I am impressed by your tenacity."

Killer Bee only growled as he opened his mouth and fired a blast of chakra at Itachi. The Akatsuki member dodged the wave of beams that the man was firing and soon discovered his intentions, '_He's trying to lead me away from the village. I suppose that's fair. These people will suffer greatly if this battle gets out of hand._'

Pretending to be oblivious, Itachi kept up with the ruse and soon found himself outside of the village gates. Seeing his opportunity, Killer Bee launched another wave of chakra at him before charging the man.

Itachi allowed himself to be pushed a considerable distance away from Kumo. **"You are out of the village now, give me control Bee."**

The man agreed to his bijou's request and began to transform fully into the eight tails. Itachi shook his head and sighed, '_I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this._'

The eight tails began to form a massive ball of chakra in its mouth before launching the tailed beast ball at Itachi. The Uchiha stood still as he activated his Susanoo. The shield from the chakra entity blocked the full force of the attack but partially destroyed Susanoo.

Itachi strained as his reformed it and began to walk towards the bijou. '_It's a shame I can't seal a jinchuuriki in this sword. I don't even know if it would work. I suppose that only leaves one option.'_

The red chakra from Itachi's Susanoo began to amplify as black flames blanketed the entity. The eight tails was shocked by this new development and charged up another tailed beast ball. Sadly, it was unable to launch the attack before Susanoo slammed into it.

The bijou and Susanoo wrestled furiously trying to overpower the other. But before long the giant beast was covered in black flames. It howled in agony as it thrashed against Susanoo only to receive a shield bash to the face.

The eight tails went flying before landing on its back a good distance away. **"This guy is no joke…these flames hurt!" **

'_Just keep it up, he looks like he is straining.' _Killer Bee noted. Just when it seemed like Itachi gained the edge, Darui fired a massive wave of electrocuted water at him. The man was quite shocked to see it have no effect on Itachi as he continued forward.

'_It's Darui! If he's here that must mean my brother isn't far away. Just keep on the offensive and we got this guy._'

Before the bijou could respond to Killer Bee, massive surge of water smashed his flank and a fully transformed Kisame began to claw across him. The shark nin was careful to avoid Amaterasu's flames as he began to drain the chakra from Killer Bee. The jinchuuriki was unable to fight back as his powers began to drain rapidly.

After his flurry ended, Kisame reared back and dug his arm as hard as he could into the beast's forehead. Darui only watched in horror as Kisame sucked all of Killer Bee's chakra out rendering him unconscious. Just now arriving at the scene, the Raikage was in full berserker bloodlust as he charged towards Kisame. Unfortunately, he was blocked as Itachi jumped in front of him.

The Raikage stopped dead in his tracks as the newly acquired chakra from Kisame began to fuel Susanoo causing it to triple in size. The entity absorbed Kisame who stood beside Itachi with Killer Bee slung over his back. The two traded nods before Itachi spoke, "We have what we came for…don't try to follow us."

As soon as he finished his sentence, Susanoo began to flicker before disappearing and leaving a massive explosion of chakra in its wake.

After the blast subsided, C finally managed to catch up to A and Darui only to see the Raikage roar at the top of his lungs, "I WILL KILL EVERY LAST MEMBER OF AKATSUKI!"

"What are your orders, boss?" Darui asked.

The frenzied Raikage clenched his fists and shouted, "CALL FOR KAGE SUMMIT MEETING! AKATSUKI MUST BE STOPPED!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto sighed as he stared at the ceiling in Hidan's bedroom. The room was pitch black everywhere with the exception of the occasional red Jashin marking on the wall.

The past several days had been very laid back for the group, but he didn't mind. After the long battles and constant chases he was glad to have a sort of vacation. Although he found it hard to enjoy it while worrying about the safety of his other companions. Naruto closed his eyes and wondered where they were.

'_I wonder where they are right now?' _Focusing chakra in his eyes, he began to see three different fields of vision in his mind. One was of Zabuza happily writing away as he watched Fu and Mei discuss Naruto's sex life.

He couldn't help but read some of the writing, '_For my Commentary on this chapter we look into the deeper meaning behind the Super Pimp's view on relationships. As chapter nine stated, previously, he is anything but normal in comparison to the average man_. _Since he has the ability to do so, the super pimp is capable of balancing multiple relationships. It show true resolve when one transcends the traditional concepts of relationships. He may be considered and adulterer by some, but the super pimp is a natural polygamist. He accepts pleasure and love wherever he can find it in the world. This behavior resembles that of a conqueror but is there really love or is he trying to fill the hole in his heart?'_

Naruto shook his head as he skimmed to the bottom of the page.

_During his brief moments of alone time, gossip flourishes among his lovers. The spunky green haired girl is both impressed and threatened by the arrival of another woman_. _However, the look in their eyes almost spells admiration for each other as they trade tender loving but feisty glares that only rivals could share. Several of the newcomers are harder to figure out as they all hide their feelings differently. The blonde girl appears to be uninterested at first glance, but has been noticeably eavesdropping on several of these gossiping rivals._'

Brought out of his distraction from Zabuza's activities, Naruto found himself seeing Haku's. The woman was giggling as she brushed her hair in a mirror. She licked her lips every couple of seconds.

Naruto found the sight almost amusing, _'Guess she really wanted it hahaha. Well at least Haku will always like me.'_

"**I detest the way you waste your time pleasing these pawns when we have more important things to worry about." **an all too familiar fox demon complained.

Moving on, Naruto saw Guren's vision. The woman was currently over Oto about to land. But that's not what fascinated him…it was her company.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Guren, Tayuya, Sasuke, Anko, and a dead Kimimaro all landed in the middle of Otogakure. Upon seeing Guren all of the jounin instantly bowed in respect. Several had shocked looks when they saw her eyes.

"Guren-sama…it is good to see you return. Where is Pein?" One jounin asked. Before Guren could answer she heard Naruto's voice, **'Just tell them I am on the way.' **

Upon hearing the command, Guren instantly knew that it was Naruto's. She did as he said, "Pein will be along in due time. He is currently handling some business. We are regrouping here until he arrives."

The guard nodded, "Y-yes, Guren-sama." The man stood still as he cautiously stared at her eyes. The woman sighed, "It was a gift."

The man humbly bowed low before leaving to spread the word among his peers. Anko just shook her head and laughed, "What's with all the stiff necks around here? These people look like they're scared of you."

"They should be…" Guren said calmly as she walked into the village tower.

Sasuke was carrying Kimimaro's body with a distraught looking Tayuya sulking behind him. Guren made her way into the main office and took a seat at her desk.

She heard Naruto's voice speak again, **'Hey is that Anko…and Sasuke?'**

'_Yes, she claims to have followed us out of Ame, and Sasuke found us while we were in Kusa shortly after Anko arrived. They've been a big help in dealing with Orochimaru.' _Guren explained.

'**Do they know about me then? You guys didn't tell him who I was right?' **Naruto asked concerned.

'_No we didn't tell them. They both actually figured it out. According to Kimimaro and Tayuya, Sasuke figured it out himself before he found us. He's been decent company and seems genuine. Anko on the other hand…I'm not real sure if she's trustworthy yet. I don't really understand her motive is for wanting to join us.' _Guren answered.

'**Well…I don't know how to feel about this. Just keep an eye on them and I'll see what they have to say when I arrive at the village. By the way, is Kimimaro dead? Why is Sasuke carrying him?'**

'_He died during our fight with Orochimaru defending Sasuke. The others were very upset about it, but I told them to keep his body in case you might be able to help him,' _the woman said hopefully.

'**I'm glad you were wise enough to keep his body. He is worthy to become a path. It seems so strange seeing Sasuke and Anko with you especially since they know who I am. This will be interesting.'**

'_Can you explain what exactly you did to me, Naruto? I mean I have Rinnegan eyes now and these new powers. I'm assuming that they are somehow connected to you and what you did to me right?'_

'**When I killed you the first time, I bound your soul to mine. I created a chakra bond between us which I can siphon my power into making each of you stronger. You might have been too distracted while you were blushing on your knees."**

'_HEY! You killed me and brought me back to life! What the hell was I supposed to think?' _The woman shot back somewhat defensively.

'**Thanks? Hahaha, anyways Guren, I have done a lot of meditating lately and I believe I understand my powers a bit better. You are my animal path and are now a part of me…so to speak.'**

'_I had no idea you could do that…so am I the only one of these paths? I barely remember hearing you trying to explain this to me back in Kusa.' _Guren asked.

'**No…Zabuza and Haku are paths as well. Zabuza is Preta, Haku is Human, and you are Animal. Kimimaro will become a path as well in due time.'**

'_This is crazy…so how do we all have Rinnegans then? And why didn't Zabuza and Haku have Rinnegan eyes when I saw them last?'_

'**Like I said…I'm starting to understand the true power my eyes are capable of."**

'_So how many paths can you have then?' _Guren asked fascinated. Naruto answered her, **'Six. We will discuss this more when I arrive. In the mean time your orders are to fortify the village and double the guard details. Prepare for my arrival within the next few days.'**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto opened his eyes and found himself back inside Hidan's bedroom. He sighed aloud as he dreaded the long flight to Oto he would have to take soon. A knock at the door drew him from his attention. "Come in," Naruto said as he stared at the ceiling still.

As the door opened a voluptuous red head entered the room and closed the door behind herself. Naruto was unsure what to make of this as Mei raised two fingers to her lips, "Shhh…"

"Mei, what are you doing here?" he asked confused.

"I don't know…I just thought I'd come in here and see where it went…maybe finish that talk we had a few days ago," Mei said seductively.

Naruto sat up and sighed, "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Mei stood at the foot of his bed and crossed her arms.

"First of all I just wanted to ask…what's the deal with these different girls you keep rebounding with? I mean explain to me what this little fan club is to you." The woman asked in a curious tone.

The jinchuuriki shrugged at her question, "Honestly, I'm not sure. I never really had a relationship when I lived in Konoha, and I wasn't exactly popular among the girls back then either. Nobody ever really explained relationships to me when I was growing up. Most of them are my friends and that's good enough for me."

Mei raised a brow, "Not popular among the ladies? Yeah I find that hard to believe…you've got yourself quite the little entourage from what I've heard from Zabuza. Strange though…I noticed you don't really stick with one girl. Why is that? Is one woman not enough for the notorious Pein?"

"I don't know. I've been so busy the last couple months that I guess I never really thought about it. Why does it matter to you anyways?" he countered.

The red head shrugged carelessly, "Just curious; So do you love any of them?"

"What? What kind of question is that?" Naruto asked defensively. Mei was silent as she studied his face for any sort of indication to his thought process.

After a long awkward silence she sighed, "Guess I have my answer. You don't believe in love do you?"

Naruto let out a heavy sigh in response, "I believe in taking life's pleasures wherever I can find them. I don't even know what love is…and I doubt I ever will. All that matters to me is the loyalty and friendship of my companions and the future I will forge for us. Nothing else matters beyond that."

Mei nodded her head in approval at his answer, "You and I are two of kind then because I believe in the exact same thing. Maybe if I was normal it would bother me to see a man doing what you do, but for some reason it doesn't. I can't really blame you for thinking the exact same way I do."

"I'm surprised a woman as beautiful as yourself has never caught anybody's eye," Naruto complimented.

Mei blushed slightly at his compliment and chuckled, "I never said that…I'm just like you for a reason. Though the truth is I never really cared to settle on one person because none of them meant anything to me. Plus not to mention, there aren't very many people that can hold my interest for long."

"When you put it like that, you make me sound like a jerk. I actually do care about them in different ways, but at this point there's no reason for me to settle for one. I know it's kind of selfish, but that's just how it has to be for now." Naruto responded smoothly.

The red head smirked at his comment and licked her lips, "So where do I fit into your little harem then?"

"Wherever you want, Mei," Naruto laughed.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she whispered seductively. Wasting no time, the woman locked the door behind herself and immediately pounced on top of him straddling him on the bed. "I knew you couldn't resist me. I say we seal the deal on our 'friendship.'"

**(LEMON ALERT! )**

Before Naruto had a chance to respond, Mei's lips were pressed against his. She immediately began to force her tongue inside his mouth as she grabbed two handfuls of his hair. The vixen moaned lustfully into the kiss as her tongue explored the corners of his mouth.

Naruto couldn't help but feel intoxicated by the sweet taste of her sugary red lips. He sat up in his bed and wrapped his hands around her face forcing both of them into a deeper and more passionate kiss. Finally after a long make-out session they broke it for air.

Mei panted heavily as she licked her lips, "Yummy."

The rinnegan wielder ran his hands through her silky crimson hair, "There's plenty more where that came from."

The fiery red head began to lick his face as her hands traced over his chest. Naruto felt himself getting harder from the woman's motions as she planted kisses down his neck.

Mei yelped in surprise when Naruto's hands grabbed her ass and squeezed. She immediately smashed her lips back against his again and sloppily wrestled his tongue in another make out session. It wasn't long before Mei felt his throbbing hard member press against her.

A gasping moan escaped her lips as she broke the kiss, "Mhmmm, You like that baby?"

Without even responding, Naruto reversed their positions and straddled her on top of the bed. The red head giggled as she rolled over causing the two to go tumbling off the bed. Thankfully it didn't cause too loud of a thud. Or so Naruto thought...

As Naruto stood up, he instantly felt Mei undoing his pants and pulling them down. The voluptuous vixen grinned as she looked up at him. He shamelessly took off the rest of his clothes as Mei undid her dress. His cock grew even harder upon seeing the woman now topless wearing nothing but a dark blue thong and fishnet leggings.

Wasting no time, the sexy woman knelt down and grabbed his throbbing member. Naruto leaned his head back and groaned softly as she gripped it tight. "Does that feel good, hun? Do you want more?" she teased seductively.

He silently nodded his head. Mei began to slowly pump and suck on his cock taking in every soft groan and pleasurable twitch as her head bobbed slowly. Naruto started to groan louder as her pace increased. The vixen's hands wrapped around his waist and gripped his ass as she began to deep throat him.

Naruto moaned heavily as he fucked her in the mouth. This continued until the woman pulled back for air. She panted desperately as saliva dripped off his cock and out of her mouth.

Quickly catching her breath, Mei stood up and pushed him against a nearby wall as the pair began to make out once again. Not long after, Naruto pushed her onto the bed and stared at her briefly taking in her lustful gaze. She blushed furiously at the look on his face and gasped as he began to kiss her well toned but silky smooth core.

Mei felt herself dripping wet as the kisses went lower until Naruto was finally at her thong. Wasting no time, he pulled it off and began to lick her lower lips. She squirmed in pleasure as he fingered her pussy and licked her clit. The woman giggled blissfully, "Do I taste good, baby?"

Lifting his head up, Naruto answered her with another heavy kiss. It didn't last long before the woman broke it, "Enough of this, I want you to fuck me now."

Obeying her demand, Naruto positioned himself at her entrance and slowly pushed inside. Mei bit her lip and panted desperately, "Don't tease me, Naruto…OHHHH"

Upon hitting her inner wall, Mei moaned loudly. Feeling her tight pussy around his throbbing member caused the jinchuuriki to grunt and moan as he began to go in and out. It wasn't long before his pace began to increase dramatically causing the horny red head to squeal, "OOOOOOOOAAHA!"

Naruto placed a hand over her mouth as he continued, "Shhhh! Are you trying to wake everybody up?"

Mei continued to moan and flailed as Naruto continued. He briefly leaned his head back and let out a soft groan.

Taking the opportunity, Mei wrapped her legs around his back rolled on top of him. Before Naruto even had time to react, the red head was riding him. She shamelessly let out another loud squeal as she leaned forward, "AWW OOOOOOOOOAH!"

The jinchuuriki cringed as he put his hand over her mouth again, "Damn it, Mei be quieter."

She bucked harder as she pulled his hand off, "Ooooh yeah, Ughhh I want them to hear us."

The rinnegan wielder began drift off in ecstasy as he grabbed her curvaceous boobs and squeezed. The woman temporarily stopped bucking as Naruto licked her nipples. "Oh you know what I like, Naruto…mmmhmmm," she whispered seductively.

"Turn around," he demanded sexily causing the woman to get off him. She yelped as he bent her over the bed and began to slam her from behind doggy style. Before she could let out another squeal, Naruto put one hand over her mouth and the other grabbed her hair.

Mei rocked and shook violently as Naruto's pace increased exponentially. This continued for a little while. Closing in on his climax, he lost his grip on Mei's hair and mouth and put both his hands on her shoulders.

Her moaning continued to amplify as she came closer. Doing his best to silence Mei's moans, Naruto pressed her head into a pillow as she screamed into her own climax. The woman shrieked as she came, bucking wildly against the throbbing cock slamming her from behind.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Naruto finally exploded into her. Mei cooed softly as the waves of unbelievable ecstasy enveloped all of her senses. The two rode out their orgasms until finally Naruto pulled out and collapsed on top of the bed.

Both were panting heavily as they lied down next to each other in bed. Mei whimpered softly as she reached down to feel her soaking wet pussy. She bit her lip and finally sighed, "Wow…just wow."

"You sure said it…" Naruto responded exhaustedly. The two lovers were both awkwardly silent for several minutes as they stared at the wall. Neither one spoke a word as they spooned.

**(****Lemon Over…)**

'_I wonder why she's being so quiet?' _Naruto thought to himself. Mei looked like she wanted to say something but kept biting her lip.

"**So how long are you going to lie in bed doing nothing? You had her fun, now send this bitch on her way. We have things to discuss."**

'_Kyuubi, shut up for once. It's bad enough you have to watch every time I do this with a woman.'_

"**Whatever…"**

Finally after what seemed like a lifetime, Mei spoke up, "Why does this feel awkward?"

"That was a lot of things, and awkward isn't one of them," the rinnegan wielder laughed.

She turned around and met his gaze with a curious stare. Her emerald green eyes sparkled with a cheerful look, "I don't know about you hun, but I'm ready for round two."

"We've got all night…but you need to be quieter or you'll wake the whole damn house up," Naruto laughed as their lips met once again.

After they broke the kiss, she grinned, "Why do you care? Are you afraid the other girls will get upset? Don't worry about them…I'm the new alpha female around here."

"Just don't go around saying that…" Naruto muttered amused as he envisioned a bloody catfight.

In the room right next to Naruto's a certain green-haired girl had her ear firmly pressed against the wall with a mischievous grin on her face. She shook her head and spoke quietly to herself, "Well played red…but you're in for a reality check if you think I'll let you have all night."

Fu stealthily snuck outside and picked the lock on Naruto's door. He and Mei didn't notice the girl as she relocked the door behind herself. Before either one knew what was happening, Fu pounced in between the two and laughed, "My turn!"

Both Naruto and Mei let out gasps of shock as the girl pushed Mei off the bed. "What the hell are you doing in here?" the red head demanded annoyed.

"I came here to get some cock." Fu stated with a devious smirk.

"Go back to bed bitch. You can come back later; we're not done yet," Mei countered.

Fu shook her head and giggled, "Kind of hard to sleep when you're making so much noise. I thought Konan screamed like a whore…but you are a damn squealer red."

Naruto cut into the conversation, "Don't worry ladies…there's plenty of time for both of you."

'_This is going to be another one of those long nights…' _the jinchuuriki thought as the two women wrestled for a spot on the bed.

In the adjacent room, Zabuza had a wide grin on his face as he leaned against the wall writing in his book. _'I'm going to make so much money when I publish this…then I need to focus on merchandise. Want the ladies to like you? Well get your new Super Pimp Pein cologne…guaranteed to make me rich! Then maybe I'll buy that nice castle in Snow Country…or I could just take it.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Konan's forces marched for several days and were now outside of the gates of Iwagakure. Hidan had a sadistic smile as he saw companies of Anbu and Jounin gathering at the gate in the distance.

"They have no idea how bad we're about to fuck them," Hidan laughed.

"What are our orders again Konan?" Kakuzu asked callously. Shizune remained silent as she glared at the blue haired woman.

Konan turned around glanced at each one of them, "As I said before we left…Hidan and Shizune will capture the four tails. Don't bother waiting for me once you have him. Kakuzu will capture the five tails, and I will capture the village."

"Well, Shizune…I hope you're good in a fight, because I don't think you'll last long with Hidan helping you," Kakuzu chuckled.

"FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!" Hidan shot back as he flipped off his partner.

Shizune shrugged, "We'll be fine."

Konan nodded her head at them, "Go now!"

Without another word the three set off leaving Konan at the front of her army. The breathing from her mask intimidated several of her jounin as she paced in front of the attack force.

"Men! I want companies one and two to assault the main gate! Three and four enter from adjacent locations! I want high priority buildings secured and village leaders captured. Company five is assigned to ward the perimeter; we don't want any one escaping for back up now do we?" Konan ordered.

Without wasting a second, the said companies set off in their different groups and began to assail Iwa.

As her army clashed against the gates, Konan formed her paper wings and flew over the village. She immediately set out on destroying priority military targets, such as the gate towers, and Anbu headquarters. The iwa nin cowered in fear as she rained explosive tags over the village.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Immediately catching attention of Konan's actions, a very tall and muscular Iwa man with a straw hat and a sword began to follow Konan's path of destruction. Before he had a chance to intercept the woman, a stone fist slammed into the side of his head full force sending him flying.

The man looked up barely in time to dodge a stringy arm of Kakuzu slamming down at his throat.

"Well well, Han, it's good to see you're still as predictably stupid as ever," Kakuzu commented as he pulled several masks off of his back.

"You are one of the ones that came here before…I should have killed you then back when I had the chance!" Han retorted.

Kakuzu snorted, "I didn't really figure you to be the hero type. You didn't seem to happy about being on a leash around here."

"What do you want from me fiend?" Han demanded angrily.

"Your bijou," the akatsuki member laughed.

Wasting no more time talking, Kakuzu rained simultaneous fire, lighting, and wind at the jinchuuriki.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, Hidan and Shizune were now approaching on a wooden hut outside of the village. The sounds of battle thundered in the distance causing Hidan to shake his head, "Guess Kakuzu's already found the five tails."

"Are you sure he's in there?" Shizune asked as she looked at the hut.

The jashinist priest shrugged, "Probably, he spent all his damn time meditating or some shit like that when we saw him last."

Shizune cackled evilly as she spit a ball acid at the hut enveloping it in toxic fumes. It took mere moments before the acid began to eat away at the wood. Adding to it, Shziune flashed through some hand seals and spit a ball of fire engulfing the hut in a huge explosion.

"Well, he's fucked hahahahaha!" Hidan laughed in amusement. Both the akatsuki members patiently waited for the blast to subside and were surprised to see a very calm, Roshi continuing to meditate while on fire.

They both traded odd glances before Hidan strolled in front of the man, "We're here for the four tails, old man! Now stand up and fight!"

Roshi calmly opened his eyes and stood up. He had a relaxed look on his face as he looked between his assailers, "So the spies were sent by Ame after all…why do you desire my bijou, spy?"

"Listen asshole, we don't have time for your cryptic bullshit wisdom! WE CAME FOR THE FOUR TAILS!" Hidan yelled in response.

Roshi exhaled deeply, "Very well…**YOU SHALL FACE HIM!"**

Hidan traded another surprised look with Shizune as the red haired man began to glow in an ominous cloak of red chakra. Before long, his form grew in tremendous size into a massive crimson ape. Four tails flurried viciously as the beast slammed one of its massive fists towards Hidan.

The jashinist barely dodged the colossal impact as he dove to the side. He drew his scythe and swirled it flashily as the bijou neared him.

The four tails was now enraged and began to charge the man. Hidan narrowly dodged the beast as he grazed his scythe over its back. The ape roared in pain before quickly healing. Hidan licked the blood from weapon and laughed maniacally as he began to stab himself repeatedly.

Shizune cringed at the masochist's expression as blood poured from his body. The four tails was barely affected as several puncture wounds covered its midsection.

Hidan shook his head, _'Figures that wouldn't work…guess I'll have to go big for this one.'_

The priest took a deep breath before stabbing himself through the forehead. This evidently stopped the bijou in its tracks as it fell over in agony.

Hidan pulled his dripping blade from his head and turned to a nearby Shizune, "Are you going to fucking help me or not?"

Wasting no time, Shizune blanketed the bijou with more acid and poisonous vapors. It had little effect on the ape until she threw an exploding tag at the now rising bijou's face causing another explosion to knock it off balance.

Hidan sighed heavily as he pulled off his robe, "Jashin damn it! This is going to be one huge pain in the ass fight!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Back with Kakuzu, he and Han were trading blows full force causing unbelievable amount of destruction in the village. Han's steam armor and steam abilities saved him on more than one occasion against Kakuzu's combined masks and ruse strikes.

The jinchuuriki laughed at Kakuzu as the two landed across from each other on the rooftops of Iwa. Fire and explosions surrounded the scene in all directions as Iwa and Ame's forces battled beneath them in the streets.

"I can see why the people here like you so much," Kakuzu taunted. He was trying his best to enrage Han into a transformation.

"Fuck all of them! This village can burn for all I care! I am only here because Master Roshi chooses to stay," Han responded bitterly.

Kakuzu shook his head, "Well I wonder how you'll feel once we've captured him too…"

"Wait, you mean…" Han looked into the forest in the distance and barely caught a glimpse of an enraged red ape fighting.

The jinchuuriki immediately set off in the direction of Roshi, much to Kakuzu's amusement. _'That's right asshole…we'll get you both together and out of here at the same time.'_

Kakuzu followed Han over to the scene of Roshi, Hidan, and Shizune. To Kakuzu's utter disbelief, Hidan and Shizune were doing a good job of keeping it preoccupied though the ape kept regenerating after every major attack.

Han immediately leapt towards Hidan with his sword drawn and stabbed him from behind. "WHAT THE FUCK!" Hidan roared in anger as twisted around side kicked Han full force in the face. Shizune kept wearing down the transformed Roshi as she blanketed him with a number of toxic senbon needles. At first they appeared to have no affect on the entity, but then Shizune flashed through a series of hand seals and unleashed a miasma causing the four tails to stumble numbly.

"Well you brought the other guy here too? GOOD THINKING DIPSHIT!" Hidan shouted in anger at Kakuzu as he pulled Han's sword from his back.

The four tails furiously thrashed towards Shizune who defensively tried dodging its attacks. "Good job, Hidan, I'm glad to see Tobi's little girl scout is more reliable than you are," Kakuzu noted as his masks distracted Roshi from Shizune giving her the opportunity to continue her miasma.

"FUCK ALL OF YOU!" Hidan shot back wrathfully as he parried a blow from Han's second sword. The jashinist shook heavily as the overbearing force of Han's strength pushed him to the ground.

Kakuzu rushed over to Hidan but was backhanded by Roshi sending him flying into a nearby mass of trees. Han stomped Hidan repeatedly in the head and pulled his scythe from his grip throwing it into a nearby tree. Hidan struggled fiercely against Han's superior strength before getting both of his arms and legs impaled with long kunais.

"You're not so tough are you?" Han laughed at the pinned Hidan as he raised his sword to deliver a finishing blow. Hidan laughed at Han's expression when the blade went through his heart.

"Why aren't you dead?" Han demanded angrily. Before Hidan could even answer, a transformed Kakuzu, now covered in his stringy tentacles and his masks completely wrapped Han and began to smash him against the ground.

Meanwhile, Shizune was on the defensive again as the four tailed ape blanketed lava across the landscape. Fire consumed their surroundings. Finally, after a long string of dodges, Shizune took a heavy hit from the beast and fell over in agony. Before Roshi had a chance to kill her, Kakuzu's masks assailed him with multiple elements throwing him to the ground.

Han tried to flank Kakuzu but was blown away by his wind mask. The jinchuuriki thought quickly and made a mad dash towards the injured Shizune but was stopped in his tracks as an unknown force held him in place.

Barely able to turn his head, Han saw one of Hidan's hands free making a gripping motion at him. His eyes grew wide with horror as the grip tightened. Han screamed in pain as his blood began to boil.

Taking advantage of his weakened state, Hidan pulled the rest of the blades from his body and started to laugh. "Blood! I CAN FEEL YOUR BLOOD!"

Han, unable to move, watched in shock as he saw Hidan's scythe fly to his hand. Kakuzu and the now risen Shizune glanced over in confusion at the sight of blood pouring from Hidan's body.

"What the hell are you?" Han shouted in horror as Hidan's now dripping blood began to swirl around him in a slow moving aura of chakra.

Han couldn't move his body as Hidan held him in place. "It's been a long time since I had to do this...LORD JASHIN, KING OF BLOOD, I CALL UPON YOU!"

Hidan dropped his grasp on Han and laughed maniacally as he pulled out a glowing red, jagged stone. The jinchuuriki made a mad dash towards Hidan but was unable to reach him before the priest imbedded the stone into his forehead.

Everybody present, even the four tails, turned to face Hidan in horror as a column of blood and fire erupted from his figure engulfing him in shadows.

"No way…" Kakuzu barely muttered as a deep and terrifying voice resonated from the column of blood, **"Who dares invoke the wrath of JASHIN!"**

The column of blood shifted into an aura of chakra that was pure black revealing a pitch black, demonic looking creature.

The demon looked around curiously at his surroundings. "Hidan? Is that you?" Kakuzu asked incredulously.

**"I am Jashin. Hidan is my servant,"** the demon answered. The four tails, now delirious with confusion and rage charged Jashin and spit a column of magma at him.

The demon didn't move as the lava rained over him. Jashin started to laugh maniacally at the beast, **"I'm fireproof, bijou! KNEEL BEFORE YOUR MASTER!"**

Kakuzu and Shizune backed up considerably from the four tails as it charged the demon. Jashin held up Hidan's scythe. They watched in awe as the being channeled black chakra around the weapon. Han watched in absolute horror as Jashin threw the weapon into the four tails.

As the scythe collided with the ape, chakra exploded from it, soaking it in burning blood. Jashin laughed evilly, **"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BEND TO ME APE!"**

No longer in control of its body, the four tails helplessly roared in pain as Jashin repeatedly slammed Roshi into the ground and made him punch himself.

Kakuzu shuddered in disbelief, "What the fuck? What the fuck?"

"**Tremble mortals! HAHAHAHA, the beast is weak! You are nothing compared to your predecessor, bijou! SUFFER YOU BLEEDING APE!"**

Shizune was horrified by the demon as it sadistically tortured Roshi. Kakuzu turned his gaze towards Han who was now frozen in fear.

The four tails desperately tried to fight free and roared, **"RELEASE ME JASHIN!"**

"**NO! HAHAHAHA! How's about I make you kill your little friend?" **Jashin cackled demonically as he manipulated the struggling bijou to charge Han.

Now desperate, Han let himself go and started to transform himself into the five tails. He lost control as the five tails fully formed and began to charge a tailed beast ball at the incoming Roshi.

With all of his willpower, Roshi managed to break free of Jashin's blood grip and jumped into the air just in time for Han's tailed beast ball to fire. Jashin watched in shock as the attack annihilated him in a massive explosion.

The four and five tailed jinchuuriki's both stood side by side waiting for the smoke of the blast to subside. They didn't wait long before a fountain of blood and fire erupted like a volcano out of the crater. Riding it down towards the beasts Jashin leapt between them and began to flurry his scythe in relentless strokes between the two bijou.

"**Mortal pawns! If you are of any use to me, then restrain these animals!" **Jashin commanded Kakuzu and Shizune.

They joined in his assault against the bijou. With her remaining chakra, Shizune coated both tailed beasts in a heavy cloud of miasma disorienting them greatly. Kakuzu added to this by wrapping countless strings around both of them and firing nonstop barrages from his masks holding them both down.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jashin charged a massive ball of black chakra and then absorbed all of the surrounding lava, fire and blood into a colossal orb.

Kakuzu and Shizune both darted in opposite directions barely in time to dodge Jashin's beam which completely obliterated the two bijous transforming them back into their hosts. Both Han and Roshi were covered in burns and scars as they fell unconscious.

Jashin walked over towards the two defeated foes and roared triumphantly, **"SO MUCH FOR THE MIGHT OF THE BIJOU! NOW YOU ARE BOTH MINE!"**

Slightly fearful, Shizune cut in, "Umm…Jashin?"

The demon turned to face the woman causing her to shiver in fear as its blood red eyes narrowed in amusement at her fear, **"You will refer to me as Jashin-sama, Lord of Blood, understand little girl! Or do you need convincing?"**

"Y-yes, of course Jashin-sama. I just wanted to remind you that we need to bring them both to Tobi and…" she trailed off as the demon snorted in disgust.

"**I serve no one, little mortal. These creatures are now my slaves!"**

"Hidan, okay we get it, you're not really weak…just transform back so we can go. Hidan?" Kakuzu cut in.

Jashin began to laugh, **"HAHAHA! Why should we?" **

"I think I understand why he's never done this before," Kakuzu commented to Shizune who nodded in fear.

The demon crossed its arms, **"Well aren't you a clever little bitch? Perhaps you need to be reminded of who you're dealing with!"**

Shizune found herself completely immobilized by Jashin's blood grip, but Kakuzu on the other hand was unaffected.

"**What? HOW ARE YOU IMMUNE LITTLE MORTAL?" **Jashin demanded fiercely as the towering demon walked towards Kakuzu.

"I don't have blood…but Hidan would have known that. Leave his body Jashin!" Kakuzu demanded.

Before Jashin had a chance to retaliate, Konan landed nearby, "Guys, the Tsuchikage and the elders fled the village right after we charged the gate. Did you manage to secure the…"

Konan stopped mid sentence when she saw the massive black demon holding Hidan's scythe.

"What the fuck is that?" she demanded.

"**OH? Another pawn wishes to pledge itself to me?" **Jashin said darkly.

She looked over at Kakuzu and shook her head, "Wait…don't tell me that this is, Hidan's god."

"**Such a pretty one…perhaps you wish you be my concubine? HAHAHAHA!" **Jashin taunted.

Konan looked over at the two unconscious jinchuuriki and the immobilized Shizune, "What is he doing to her? Where on earth is Hidan?"

The azure haired beauty met her answer when she felt her body being pulled towards Jashin and into his hand which was now gripping her throat tightly. The grip wasn't exactly effective as she had Hanzo's mask on.

Konan gasped for air, before dispersing into hundreds of sheets of paper. The demon looked around curiously, **"Interesting…you're definitely going to be a keeper."**

Konan reformed in front of Kakuzu and Shizune and laughed, "You manipulate blood…that's disgusting. I see where Hidan learned his abilities now."

"**Necromancy is one of the greater demonic arts. To manipulate the chakra and blood of others to one's bidding, to rise from the dead a thousand times. I blessed my faithful servant Hidan with immortality for setting me free from my prison," **Jashin responded.

"What prison?" Konan asked shocked.

Before Jashin could answer, Shizune managed to break free during the demon's distraction and shouted at the others, "Pull that red stone out of his head! That's how Hidan transformed into it!"

Jashin instantly charged the woman furiously and swung his scythe towards her. Seizing the opportunity, Kakuzu jumped on its back and held on furiously as he reached for the horn like stone sticking out of its head.

Jashin stopped in his tracks to throw Kakuzu off, but found himself enveloped in heavy chakra paper slowing him down tremendously. Konan and Kakuzu wrestled the demon furiously reaching for the stone.

Kakuzu launched a barrage of tentacles at Jashin and held him in place long enough for Konan to rip the stone out.

"**NO! THIS ISN'T OVER MORTALS!" **Jashin shrieked in anger as his form dissolved and the black chakra all receded back into the jagged red stone.

Where the demon once stood, Hidan fell over in exhaustion. The others rushed over to examine him. "Hidan are you…alright?" Kakuzu asked awkwardly.

"What the fuck do you think asshole? DO I LOOK ALRIGHT?" Hidan shouted.

Shizune sighed in relief, "Phew, that sounds like normal old Hidan to me."

Konan looked at the stone curiously before speaking, "Hidan…where in the world did you find this stone? What is it?"

He spit blood from his mouth as he took Kakuzu's arm and stood up, "It's a soul stone. Jashin is inside of that thing."

"A what stone?" Shizune asked.

Hidan sighed, "I found it a long time ago in the lands to the west. It's a long story, can I please just have it back?"

Everybody jaw dropped, "Did Hidan just say please?" Kakuzu asked in disbelief.

"No…you almost cost us the mission by using this thing Hidan. We can't trust you with it," Konan stated plainly.

Hidan smirked, "Oh you guys must not have liked Jashin then…seeing as how he did all the damn work! You're just afraid of me now that you know what I can do! Give the fucking soul stone, Konan!"

She shook her head, "No, Hidan, I won't let that thing see the light of day again."

Hidan growled in anger as he lifted both of his arms up and captured Konan in a blood grip. Before she had time to react, Hidan made her throw the stone towards him.

Everybody nervously stood back as Hidan pocketed the stone. Konan's eyes grew wide in anger, "You dare to use that foul power on me?"

"What are you going to do abut it, Konan? Kill me? HAHAHAHA!" Hidan laughed.

"I just might!" She shouted.

"Konan, who fucking cares, we need to get out of here. I'm sure Madara will have a better solution," Shizune cut in.

Konan looked back and forth between Hidan and Shizune before glaring at the priest icily, "Keep your fucking stone then…but if you ever use that power on me again, I'll eviscerate you into a thousand pieces and bury you at the bottom of the ocean! UNDERSTAND?"

"Perfectly," he smirked.

Easing the tension, Shizune changed the subject, "Konan, what were you saying about the Tsuchikage fleeing?"

Konan sighed, "He fled with the village leaders to Konoha from what my advance scouts told me. I was going to pursue, but I wanted to make sure you fools did your jobs. Fifth company was completey wiped out from the enemy's retreat."

Kakuzu receded back to his original form and picked up both jinchuuriki, slinging them over his shoulders. "Let's just go…"

"What are you going to do about the village, Konan?" Hidan asked.

She sent him a nasty glare and answered, "I have enough Shinobi here to secure the village. I trust my servants to do their jobs while I'm gone."

Without another word the four Akatsuki members set off back to Ame.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto woke up in an all too familiar scenario with two beautiful naked women sleeping beside him. He frowned as he brushed each of their hair and sighed, _'Maybe this is wrong…I feel like I am using everybody around me. Mei is right…I don't know what love is. Maybe I'm doing this because I want to know what it feels like.'_

"**Love is an illusion created by mortals who desperately crave companionship to alleviate the horrors of their pitiful existence. Why do you doubt yourself now? They are already yours. You answered your own question last night when the woman asked you that."**

Naruto sighed again, _'I don't know, Kyuubi…I care about them, but I can't really describe how I feel. I bottled my emotions for so long in Konoha, that I don't even know who I am anymore. I don't know who Naruto Uzumaki is.'_

"**That isn't your name anymore…you are, Pein! The path you have chosen has been of your own choosing. I am pleased that you have come so far, but it annoys me to no end when I see you doubting all we've accomplished together." **Kyuubi added.

'_So how should I feel about them then? How should I feel about these women or my followers, my friends…my family?'_

"**If you want more perspective I'll lay it out for you as simply as I can. Your mother's father is your greatest enemy right now, your friends lied to you your entire life, your father turned you into a jinchuuriki, and your blind trust almost cost you your life at the Valley of the End."**

_'Zabuza, Haku, Fu, Deidara, and Guren have all proven their loyalty to me…I trust them all wholly. The others seem to be coming around to my cause…Mei especially, but I understand what your saying, Kyuubi. I should be more aware of their intentions and motives and always be ready for anything.'_

"**Exactly. I'm glad to see your wisdom has grown over the years."**

Naruto knew he had to get out of bed today and go to Oto. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with Sasuke and Anko, but knew it would be better to resolve it sooner than later.

The jinchuuriki got out of bed and began to get dressed. This woke up his two companions who eyed him curiously. "Naruto? What are you doing up so early, come back to bed," Fu yawned as she reached for him.

He brushed her hand off and spoke somewhat sternly, "We've spent too much time on vacation here, it's time to regroup with the others."

Mei's hair was wild and untamed. She had smeared makeup and other remnants of the previous night. "Can we at least take a bath?" she asked bummed.

"Do what you must, we leave at midday," Naruto answered as he finished getting dressed and left his room. Leaning against the wall outside he met the grinning face of Zabuza who patted him on the back, "You're going to make me so rich it's not even funny."

"What?" the rinnegan wielder asked before looking at Zabuza's book.

"Oh…just what the hell have you been writing in there?" Haku came around the corner and asked Zabuza sternly.

He pocketed his book, and laughed, "Nothing, Nothing…just guy stuff."

"Just don't use our real names when you publish it," Naruto laughed. Zabuza smiled and shook his head, "But then I won't be able to sell all the great merchandise to go with it. I'm thinking…Pein Cologne."

Haku face palmed, "You better not use our real names! And did you…"

"My little Haku is a woman now, Hahahaha!" the swordsman answered before Haku could even finish her sentence. She blushed crimson before walking away much to Naruto's relief since Mei and Fu both chose that moment to walk out of his room.

Mei shot an awkward glance over at Zabuza, "Uh…hey?"

"Sup!" he smiled. After an awkward silence she walked away. Fu on the other hand proudly jumped on Naruto's shoulders and laughed, "Sup, Zabuza, how's the story coming?"

He chuckled, "The latest chapter is truly one for the ages…"

"Feel free to use my real name, I don't care!" She laughed.

Naruto's sense of urgency suddenly returned as he coughed, "Well, guys we need to get ready to leave. We're going to regroup with the others at Oto."

"What about the Mizukage?" Deidara asked as he walked around the corner.

Naruto thought for a moment, "He still hasn't woken up…I'm surprised he hasn't died from a lack of hydration by now. We'll just have to tie him up and carry him with us."

"You missed your shift last night, Naruto…although I could see that you were pretty busy," Deidara chuckled. Haku now returning around the corner cut in curiously, "What do you mean busy?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like!" Fu taunted. Haku gave Naruto a disapproving look, "Oh really?"

"Yeah really, the three of us had a great time," Fu laughed.

"Three?" Haku demanded.

"Uh oh…umm hey Deidara let's go check on the good ole Mizukage," Naruto laughed awkwardly as he and Deidara left the room.

As they made it safely around the corner, they cringed at Haku's shriek, "SHE DID NOT! I'll KILL THAT WHORE!"

Mei obviously figured out what was going on and gave a cocky smile towards Haku as she entered the hallway, "C'mon now, princess…he's too much man for just one little girl like you."

Zabuza opened his book again with a slow nod, _'Catfight! Oh yeah!'_

Before a fight broke out, Fu jumped between the two women, "Hey relax babes, both of you. There's no need for everybody to be selfish here. I'm sure we can work this out reasonably."

Zabuza shot her a disapproving look, _'NO Don't stop the fight!'_

Haku eloquently turned her head with a smile, "Hmmmph, I can't stop you whores from taking advantage of him, but I am clearly the alpha girl around here. You two better remember that."

"Alpha girl? What on earth is everybody screaming about in here?" A now awoken Yugito yawned as she opened her room door.

Mei and Haku sent each other death glares ignoring Yugito completely. The blonde sent a curious gaze over to the bubbly Fu who had an awkward grin on her face watching the two rivals death glaring each other.

"Nothing, I was just leaving," Mei answered finally as she pushed past Haku. The latter girl left in the opposite direction leaving Fu and Yugito alone in the hallway.

The blonde jinchuuriki raised a brow confused, "Did I miss something? What's their problem?"

Fu shrugged, "Two queen bees in one hive…"

The minty haired girl left shortly afterwards leaving Yugito to ponder the metaphor for a moment. _'Are they fighting over Pein? No…that was just a weird dream, Yugito. Who cares what these lunatics are bitching about.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After about a full day of flying, Naruto and his companions were finally nearing the village of Otogakure. The amber glare of the sunset distracted Naruto from his bickering companions. He stared further and further into the distance before drifting into a flashback of his childhood.

He saw himself sitting on an all too familiar swing set watching the people of Konoha pass by. There were families, friends, lovers, and everything in between. He remembered the feeling of envy at the moment when he saw some of his classmates hugging their parents.

As the flashback continued, he saw himself watching the sunset on the Hokage monuments. That day was his birthday…and he had nobody to share it with.

His mind continued to race as he saw his lonely self eventually gain a group of friends and trusted senseis. The scene fast forwarded to the moment of betrayal in the valley of the end.

'_Yondaime is my father…had you told Naruto Uzumaki, he would have been ecstatic. Pein, however, doesn't see a hero, an icon, a father. He sees nothing but darkness.' _Naruto thought to himself.

"Hey, Naruto, I mean Pein, we're here!" Deidara announced. The group was relieved as Deidara's clay bird took them in for a landing.

As they landed, several figures could be seen coming from the Oto tower nearby. Guren, Tayuya, Anko, and Sasuke all ran up to them followed by a number of Jounin.

The first thing Naruto met was an excited Anko pouncing on him. He kept his balance as the woman hugged him furiously, "I can't believe it's really you!"

Guren looked at Naruto's entourage and cocked her head, "Umm, who are all of these people, Lord Pein?"

"They're…" Naruto turned to face his companions thinking of how to address them.

"We're Pein's new recruits. Though I'm probably a captain or lieutenant by now," Deidara laughed.

All of the Oto nin bowed low at the sight of Naruto. Sasuke timidly remained quiet thinking of how to break the ice with Naruto.

The jinchuuriki met the gaze of his childhood friend and spoke, "I think we should discuss this more inside in private."

His entourage all nodded as they followed him. Yugito looked around curiously, "How the hell did you capture Oto? My village has been trying to do that for years…"

The unconscious Yagura was being carried by Zabuza who didn't look too pleased about it.

As the group entered the main office, Naruto closed the door behind himself and looked at Guren, "This room is soundproof correct?"

She nodded, "Of course it is."

"Well then, we have lots of catching up to do. First of all, everybody introduce yourselves," Naruto requested as he sat down at the head chair. Everybody else around the room took seats or leaned against walls.

Nobody spoke for a few moments. "Guess I'll break the ice then. As you all probably know by now, my real name is Naruto Uzumaki and I am the jinchuuriki of Kyuubi and the SS class criminal known as Pein."

Anko licked her lips, "You sure have grown…Well anyways, my name is Anko and I am the former pupil of Orochimaru. I was a Konoha special Jounin until I came here."

"Oh great…another girl joins the group," Haku muttered under her breath.

Everybody glanced over at the woman. She sighed, "My name is Haku and I am Naruto's long time friend and human path of pain."

"Path of what?" Yugito cut in.

As attention shifted towards the blonde she shrugged, "Well I might as well tell you who I am. I am Yugito Nii, the daughter of the Raikage and jinchuuriki of the two tails. I'm also a damn hostage!"

Guren looked at her curiously, "Jinchuuriki? Have you been looking for them, Naruto?"

He nodded at her before turning his gaze to Sasuke. The Uchiha silently met his gaze, "Naruto, after you left…"

The Uchiha couldn't find the words to say as he closed his mouth. Naruto crossed his arms at the man and sighed, "Why did you come here, Sasuke?"

"I just wanted to find out what happened to you…when you left three and a half years ago, everybody thought you were kidnapped. It was bizarre, you just disappeared. At first I thought Pein had captured you, but now…well I was shocked to find out you are Pein," Sasuke answered.

Naruto shook his head, "I'm surprised you stayed in the village after I left."

"I didn't know what to do…that battle at the Valley of the End changed me," the Uchiha responded.

Tayuya laughed, "Oh yeah it changed you alright. That's called humility."

Sasuke ignored her as he continued, "I know we were never really friends, but I just want to thank you properly for stopping me from going to Orochimaru. I've had a lot of time to think over the years, and I realized that we're more alike than I thought."

Everybody watched interested, especially Yugito, as Sasuke discussed his and Naruto's past.

"I know why you left now, Naruto…I just wish I could have come with you back then," Sasuke said almost emotionally. Naruto was very shocked to see the pompous rival of his youth humbly showing emotion.

"How did you figure out who I was exactly, Sasuke?" the rinnegan wielder asked curiously.

"It was that book I found in your apartment…and your headband. It all added up that you left once I saw you at Ame," Sasuke continued.

The raven haired man pulled a Konoha headband out of his pouch and handed it to Naruto. He looked at his for a moment in disbelief. It was still as shiny and perfect as the day Iruka gave it to him.

Everybody watched intensely waiting for Naruto's reaction. He just put the headband on the desk and shook his head, "I'm not the same person you remember, Sasuke. He died three years ago."

"Maybe not, but I still consider you my friend. Would you be willing to accept me as one of your followers?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto thought about it for a long moment, _'He's come this far…he already knows…but what is his motive?'_

"May I ask why you wish to do that?" Naruto asked.

The Uchiha nodded, "I agree with your crusade against the Five Great Shinobi villages and I know that you are no friend of Itachi."

"Let him join, Naruto, Sasuke's been a great help ever since he arrived. We wouldn't have stopped Orochimaru without him," Guren convinced.

Finally, Naruto nodded, "Very well, Sasuke. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's good to see you again old friend."

"Well back to introductions, Hi guys, my name is Fu, and I'm Naruto's girlfriend. I'm also the jinchuuriki of the seven tails."

All the women present except Yugito shot a rude glare at the woman. Zabuza pulled out his book again as he eyed the scene hungrily.

"Hello everyone, my name is Mei Terumi, and I am the former apprentice of the Mizukage. I am Naruto's actual girlfriend."

Deidara shook his head and laughed, "The hens are going to cluck for a while over this shit Hahahaha hmm!"

Sasuke raised a brow curiously, _'Naruto certainly has picked up a few women in his travels. I'm surprised he finds time for them with all the crap he's been doing.'_

"I'm Zabuza…everybody here already knows me so yeah. I'm going to be a published author soon!" The swordsman cut in.

"I can't even imagine what kind of fucking smut is in that book by now…oh yeah, I'm Tayuya, and I'm the bottom bitch!" Tayuya laughed.

Several of the other women gave her icy glares which caused Deidara to laugh, "Okay hens, that's enough clucking from all of you. I am Deidara, former Akatsuki member and the express pilot of our great boss man! I happen to be one of the greatest artists in the world! I enjoy long walks on exploding beaches, blowing shit up, and committing acts of mass terrorism. My favorite color is an explosion, and my hands have mouths!"

Several members of the group cringed at the sight of Deidara's hand mouths.

"I thought he was another girl for a minute…" Anko laughed.

Before Deidara could respond, Tayuya cut in, "Hey Naruto…can you do something about Kimimaro? He's dead."

Naruto nodded, "I know he is. Bring him here and I'll do it."

Sasuke watched intensely as Tayuya left the office with Guren and brought back the dead body of Kimimaro. Guren closed the door behind them as they laid the man's body on the ground.

"Stand back everybody," Naruto ordered as he stood up and made his way over to Kimimaro.

The others all watched in fascination and slight disbelief as the lines on his Rinnegan began to spin and glow radiantly. Kimimaro's body was engulfed in a blinding white light as his injuries healed and a surge of visible chakra left Naruto's hand and entered the body.

Moments later, the ashen warrior's eyes opened wide revealing the radiant rinnegan eyes. Sasuke was beyond impressed as he ran over to the shocked Kimimaro.

The warrior looked around at everybody and shook his head, "Am I dead? Where am I?"

"You're in hell! HAHAHAHA!" Tayuya teased before Guren pushed her.

"Naruto brought you back Kimimaro, we're all back together again," Guren said cheerfully.

The man rose from the ground and took a deep breath, "I…I feel so alive. My sickness is gone!"

"You are now my Naraka Path, Kimimaro," Naruto spoke.

The white haired man turned to face Naruto and did something very unusual as he hugged the jinchuuriki.

"Thank you Naruto, for all you've done for me. I cannot truly express what this means to me. To no longer have my sickness and to be at full strength by your side," Kimimaro stated appreciatively.

"Is Kimmy hugging somebody?" Tayuya gasped in shock. The man broke his hug with Naruto and looked over towards a nearby Sasuke, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, Sasuke has more than proven himself our ally, please give him a chance to redeem himself," Kimimaro requested.

The rinnegan wielder nodded, "Well I guess we should all get a good night's rest. Tomorrow we are going to deal with Yagura. Guren, I want men watching him full time."

"Yes, my lord. As you wish." As she reached for the handle to the door, she stopped and turned around, "Oh and Naruto…"

"Yes?"

"It's good to have you back," she winked before leaving.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**WELL that's the end of chapter 15 guys! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed that update after waiting over a year. I feel really bad about that by the way.**

Anyways as usual, here' some of my commentary on the chapter:

Okay first of all…I know a lot of you were surprised when Hidan summoned Jashin. I had a good time throwing that in. I hope you enjoyed my portrayal of him. If you want a better visual for Jashin, I sort of picture him as the Dahaka from Prince of Persia: WW. As for the red soul stone thing…yeah I totally didn't borrow that from Diablo. Hell and if you want even more visual, Imagine him with Molag Bal's voice.

Naruto scores again, but this time with the esteemed Mei Terumi! I knew a lot of you were waiting for that scene for about a year and a half now. Well there you go…I hope it lived up to your expectations. I also threw in some relationship questions to add some depth into Naruto's thought process. Or at least that was my intention…

All of these simultaneous village attacks are leading up to a major conflict. Sorry if the Tsuchikage leaving upset anybody. To be honest, I wanted to save that bit of fun for later.

The big reunion was another long awaited scene that I made sure to fit in to this giant chapter. I know it seemed kind of short, but there will be some continuations don't worry.

And finally, Kimimaro is now the Hell Path. It seems so fitting doesn't it? Naruto's little team is a damn army by themselves.

Sorry for not doing anything with Yagura in this chapter, or Madara.

Well once again thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed chapter 15. Love you!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Breaking Free**

As the triumphant group of Akatsuki members returned to Ame, Konan couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread as she gazed around at the war-torn scars all around her village. She thought back to her battle with Naruto and couldn't help but feel remorsefulness weighing down upon her. Why did Naruto have to refuse Madara?

Did he even consider what the man offered? Both Naruto and Madara wanted the exact same things, yet they were too stubborn to submit to the other. Konan couldn't help but feel like she made the wrong decision in not helping Naruto. Hell, she should never have even lured him to the Valley of the End in the first place. How could she have known that Naruto would have refused? He probably felt like she betrayed him. That was the thing that made her feel the worst.

Although, the more Konan thought about it, the more she realized that Naruto was really smart in declining Madara. Even she didn't fully understand the crazed Uchiha's plan. All she knew was that he wanted the jinchuuriki for some personal reason. Naruto most likely saw betrayal down the road if he joined Akatsuki.

Naruto…why did she care about him so much? Konan couldn't understand her own emotions. The two hadn't really known each other for very long, but for some reason, she found herself captivated by him. She had never been one to care about relationships or men in general, but the moment she saw him for the first time, Konan knew that he was different.

Her beliefs were proven true on multiple occasions. Even in the heat of their battle, Naruto saved her from killing herself along with him. He could have simply shielded himself and let her die, but instead he chose to save her as well. What kind of person would do something like that? Certainly not the power mad criminal that everybody believed Pein to be. Even during their fight, she felt her heart race as if she was trying to impress him. Part of her reveled in the idea of the infamous, all-powerful Pein joining forces with her. She couldn't help but feel a little bit regretful for being too proud to offer him hospitality. Instead she forced a conflict out of fear of showing weakness. It seemed so ridiculous to her now, but Konan wondered if she would have been able to team up with Naruto like that.

Though, that would mean that the two never would have gotten close like they did in Taki. Konan smiled at the memories of Taki. It was almost amusing, the two of them waking up in chains together. For reasons even she couldn't explain, she felt attached to Naruto at that very moment. Something inside of him seemed to resonate with her as well. She could tell that they were one in the same. Two lost souls seeking power to end their own suffering. Konan could still taste their first kiss after she pledged to help him. _'I'm yours forever, I told him. What did that even mean? Why did I say that? I was just so caught up in the moment…but I suppose I could think of worse things than spending my life with him.'_

Her joyful memories of their brief time spent in Taki soon fast forwarded to the moment she decided not to help him. She felt her anger rising at her own inaction. _'Why didn't I help him?! DAMN IT! Why do I care so much about this anyway?! It's not like it could have ever worked…could it?'_

"Konan, you seem pretty pissed right now," Kakuzu spoke up breaking the group's banter. Shizune glanced over at the woman and instantly knew what was wrong with her, _'It must be about Naruto. She's been in a bad mood since the Valley of the End.'_

Hidan shook his head and laughed, "What's your problem, Konan? Still pissed about the other day? You need to stop being such a bitchy prude."

"Shut up!" Konan yelled as she stopped in her tracks. Everybody else stopped and turned back to look at the woman as she stared furiously at the ground.

Hidan raised a brow amused, "I'm sorry did you say something? Hmph, guess not. You mad, Konan?"

His mocking tone only seemed to make the woman angrier as she refused to make eye contact with anyone. Several surrounding jounin now arrived to greet the entourage, but kept their distance upon seeing their leader's angry demeanor.

"You look like you have something to say, Konan…well don't keep us in suspense," Hidan taunted. Just then, she looked up and sent him the coldest and most ruthless glare ever imaginable. The man felt slightly nervous by the amount of killing intent radiating from the woman.

Konan bit her lower lip before speaking, "I'm tired of you people treating me like shit…I'm tired of this fucking organization!"

Kakuzu looked annoyed by the remark and sighed, "Oh for fuck's sake Konan, don't go and get all emotional on us now. We're all a part of Akatsuki. This is what we signed up for. Hidan is a piece of shit no doubt, but nothing he says has any relevance to anything."

Hidan glanced over at his partner in annoyance, "Thanks for the vote of confidence you damn asshole! You're all just a bunch of little pussies to me."

Konan cracked her knuckles and shook her head, "No, I never signed up to be talked down to by worthless trash like you. I didn't spend my entire life fighting and bleeding to end up being a pawn in some plan I don't even care about!"

"Watch what you say, Konan…you're bordering treason against Akatsuki with comments like those," Shizune cut in smugly.

Before the azure beauty could respond, an all too familiar voice chimed in, "Konan would never betray me…she knows her place very, very well. She knows what I am capable of."

Everybody turned in surprise to see a newly returned Madara along with Sasori and two unconscious individuals. One was a blonde girl and the other was the Kazekage. Hidan noticed the girl first thing and laughed, "Did you snag some spoils of war?!"

Kakuzu face-palmed at the question, "Gods I hate you, Hidan."

Madara sent a fierce glare at Konan signaling her to reign in her attitude before answering, "No, Hidan, this little bitch tried to invade my mind. At first I thought to kill her for doing such a thing, but now I have a much better idea."

"You got hit by Ino's Mind Transfer Jutsu? How exactly did that happen, Tobi-sama?" Shizune asked bewildered. He shrugged carelessly, "Who knows, but I can make really good use of somebody like this. If I'm not mistaken, members of this clan can track people very well am I right?"

Shizune nodded, "Yes, they are one of the best clans when it comes to reconnaissance. Might I ask what you need her for?"

Madara shook his head, "That is none of your concern. Anyways, I see you were successful in capturing the four and five tails. Very good, bring them inside so that I might bind them and then we will await Itachi and Kisame to return.

Sasori looked annoyed as he glanced over at Madara, "So what are we supposed to do with them now?"

"Sasori, I want you to keep an eye on our prisoners here. Make sure they are properly restrained. We need to wait for Itachi and Kisame to return before we can proceed with my plan."

"You still haven't told us anything about this plan yet…" Konan cut in with an annoyed tone.

He waved her off and shook his head, "Everything will become clear in due time. You are all dismissed."

Everybody did as commanded and began to enter Konan's palace. She sighed in annoyance at the sight of them all making themselves at home. She quietly brooded as she wandered down the massive hallway. Occasional jounin came up to report things to her but she simply waved them all off uninterested.

As they progressed further inside, Madara fell back and began to whisper to her, "If your loyalty wavers even one tiny bit, I will break you. Do you understand me, girl?"

She sent him a surprised glance, "I have no doubts; I was simply annoyed by the way the worms were addressing me."

He sent her somewhat approving nod, "Yes…I can understand your frustration. You are after all a village leader…maybe even future queen of the world."

Konan felt a sharp horrible shiver crawl up her spine at the last part. Was Madara insinuating something wrong and disgusting like she thought? She had always known him to be controlling, but this was going to a whole new level. No…she wasn't going to let that nightmare come true. She tried to play it off casually as she walked away without saying anything.

As she made her way down the grand hallway leading to her throne room, Madara's voice sounded once again, "Just remember who owns you, Konan. Not even Naruto can stop me from keeping you. It would be awfully foolish of you to try and escape now wouldn't it?"

She didn't bother replying as she walked through the entrance. Before she knew what had happened, Madara was in front of her, "Come now, Konan, don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you."

She kept a straight face, but on the inside Konan felt creeped out. The azure beauty shifted her eyes carelessly away, "What are you going to do with these jinchuuriki?"

He laughed at her question, "Awfully curious aren't you?"

"I don't buy that bullshit story you keep telling everybody else. I know for a fact you have some personal reason for making us do this," Konan stated callously.

Madara huffed in annoyance, "I don't like your tone, Konan. Ever since I let you become queen of this pissant village, you've grown arrogant and disrespectful. Perhaps you think you don't have to answer to me anymore? Is that it?!"

"I became Amekage when I killed Hanzo by myself…you had nothing to do with my rise to power. I don't owe you anything! I never have…and for the record I don't answer to you." she stated coldly.

Madara sent her a fierce glare, "Oh, is that so? You've answered to me ever since I found you living in squalor in some worthless little town. You lived like a wretched little parasite until I graciously offered you something more!"

"Killing a platoon of jounin and framing me was pretty 'gracious' of you. Of course being hunted like an animal by hunter nin was an added bonus," She muttered darkly.

The Uchiha shrugged as a smile graced his lips, "Oh, but it just seemed to fit so well with your past history. Who would deny you were responsible after what happened the first time. Everybody was so terrified to hear that a fifteen year old girl killed thirty four 'innocent people.' Then she murdered a platoon of Iwa Jounin. Imagine my surprise when this guilty girl had nowhere else to turn except Akatsuki. I was so thankful to have a member with such amazing potential."

She grimaced in anger at the man, "Fuck you! I would gladly live in squalor for the rest of my life to get away from you! I've had enough of you trying to control me! Now tell me what do you want to do with these jinchuuriki!?"

The Uchiha clenched his fist in anger and growled, "You think that you can defy me too?! You're just like my bitch of a daughter, and just like Pein! What a failure of an experiment he turned out to be! What a failure all of you turned out to be! It matters not, because none of you will stand in the way of my plan for the new world!"

Before Konan could respond, Madara clamped her throat and slammed her against a wall. She quickly dispersed and reappeared behind the Uchiha with a fierce glare in her eye. He shook his head and laughed, "My new world will be glorious! Do you want me to show you?"

The azure haired woman didn't say a word as she began to channel her chakra. Madara activated his Tsukuyomi and yelled, "See my new world, Konan!"

Before she could do anything, Konan was caught in an illusion. Time all but seemed to stop as Konan saw a vision of the nine tailed beasts and their hosts.

One by one Madara absorbed them until all that was left was Naruto. Her eyes went wide in horror at the sight of a blade sticking through his chest and blood everywhere. Madara laughed, "So, Naruto, my disappointing experiment…it is time for the two of us to embrace our own destinies!"

The Naruto in Konan's illusion was badly wounded and could barely speak. He coughed heavily, "I will stop you…I swear it!"

Madara backhanded him full force and sent him to the ground, "Shut up you little brat! You thought you were so clever in refusing me at the Valley of the End. Perhaps you were smarter than I gave you credit for, but you cannot truly understand what events led up to this moment hahaha!"

"What are you talking about?" the wounded Rinnegan wielder asked painfully.

"Kyuubi was right to warn you away from me, but even he couldn't fathom what I had in store for you. Your mother was supposed to be my ticket to godhood, but she never awakened the Rinnegan because she never suffered like you did. I recombined the bloodlines…Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki in order to create the most powerful bloodline that ever existed! I gave you your eyes, I am responsible for you receiving Kyuubi and now that you lie broken before me, I shall take them back!"

Konan could only watch in horror as Naruto's eyes were ripped from his face causing him to fall over in agony. Madara laughed as he held them both in each hand and channeled chakra into them. He pressed both of his hands against his own Sharingan and screamed in pain as he transplanted the Rinnegan.

Afterwards Konan could only watch in disbelief as Madara sucked Kyuubi out of Naruto's dying body into himself. After he was done he turned over to Konan who was chained to a wall. The woman didn't bother resisting as she hung there helplessly.

She was alarmed to see the Rinnegan had managed to combine with Madara's Sharingan now with nine black tomoe inside of it. The Uchiha walked over to her and beamed maliciously, "Oh dear sweet, beautiful, Konan…you can't die in this illusion, so enjoy your suffering as I demonstrate the grand finale!"

Just then she felt herself being punctured and stabbed repeatedly before Madara set her on fire. She screamed in sheer, unbelievable pain as Madara held his hand up to the moon, "Come now, Juubi! BECOME ONE WITH ME AND WE SHALL BECOME GOD!"

Days felt like they passed as this torture continued. Konan tried several times to simply black out of it, but it was no use. Madara just stood there smugly as she suffered and shook his head, "I'll make this stop when you beg me for forgiveness. Perhaps you can even 'demonstrate' just how sorry you are? Come on you little street rat, beg for your god to forgive you!"

Konan felt a cold shiver throughout her entire body as Madara removed Hanzo's mask from her. He stopped the fire and torture momentarily as he got in her face.

Madara traced a finger down her cheek and cupped her chin forcing her to look him in the eye, "Maybe I'll show you what happens after I become god…" Just then Konan found her inner willpower and dispersed her chakra flow shattering the genjutsu.

Before Madara had time to react she formed a paper spear and charged him, "DIE!" Madara couldn't even react before he found himself impaled him against a wall. He looked completely shocked as blood began to pour from his abdomen. Konan levitated off the ground and formed six paper wings and hissed, "How dare you fucking do that to me! I'll bring down this entire fucking village just to bury you underneath the crater!"

This loud scene quickly attracted a lot of attention as countless jounin flooded into the throne room followed by Hidan, Shizune, and Kakuzu.

They looked shocked to see Madara bleeding out against the wall. "Konan what the fuck's wrong with you?! You attacked leader?!" Hidan demanded.

Before the man had a chance to react he was snagged in paper and brought off the ground to her feet. "What the fuck are you doing, you crazy bitch?!" Hidan yelled. He then saw countless exploding tags slide up his body and shook his head in shock, "What the-"

A huge explosion flashed shaking the entire room and causing many present to take cover. Hidan was surprisingly still intact, but his body was covered in burns. By this time, Madara had pulled the spear out of his stomach and grimaced in pain, "You traitorous little bitch!"

"Amekage-sama, is there anything we can do?" A jounin commander spoke up. She glanced around at her men in the room and shook her head, "Get out of the village…none of you are a match for these guys. Take all of our forces to Taki and wait for me there. If I don't make it, then you will join Pein's army!"

Madara looked as if he was about to try and stop them, but before anybody could react, Konan shielded her men escaping. Madara pulled his mask off and tossed it to the ground, "I underestimated you, Konan…you always were a rebellious little wretch, but to brazenly defy and attack me?! Oh you've crossed the line for the last time!"

"What's going on right now?! How did all this shit happen?!" Kakuzu demanded shocked.

Madara coughed up blood as he briefly fell to a knee, "She has turned against Akatsuki…kill her!"

The Uchiha could barely believe that such a wound affected him so badly. He should have known better than to toy with Konan. _'I left myself exposed…but that won't happen again!' _He hissed inwardly as he stood up.

The Uchiha began to heal himself with his powerful chakra and turned to look at Shizune, "Go find Sasori and sedate the jinchuuriki…I don't want anybody taking them. Kakuzu, go with her and make sure to kill anyone that tries!"

"Yes, Lord…" Shizune nodded as she and Kakuzu left as quickly as possible. Hidan on the other hand finally regained composure and tried to stand up, "F-Fuck you, Konan! I'm going to mutilate your fucking corpse!"

Hidan pulled a glowing red stone out of his pocket much to Madara's surprise. Before he had a chance to stab it into his forehead, Konan restrained him and snatched it away. The jagged crystal like stone was warm to the touch and Konan could feel an ominous chakra radiating from it.

The priest reached for his scythe and cut through his restraints. He held up an arm and tried to catch Konan in a blood grip. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful as she partially dispersed her body and reformed.

"Hidan, what is that stone?!" Madara demanded furiously. Before Hidan could even respond, he watched in horror as Konan jabbed the stone into her own forehead. A column of blood and fire erupted before revealing a demonic black entity.

Madara raised a brow in utter confusion as Hidan fell to his knees, "No…FUCK FUCK FUCK!"

"**Ah, Hidan, my faithful servant…you failed me!" **Jashin shouted furiously.

He shook his head in horror**, "N-no, master, I was perfectly alright with you having my body. They stopped us!"**

The demon huffed in disgust, **"I no longer need you, mortal…for now I have a much more powerful host! However, I shall reward your many years of service with a quick death!" **

Madara simply watched intrigued as Jashin brutally ripped Hidan into pieces and picked up his Scythe. Blood was everywhere.

Jashin turned to Madara and laughed, **"Little mortal…you seem awfully calm in the presence of a demon. Might I know why?"**

"You're pretty elusive Konan…you were actually willing to let this thing possess you in order to protect yourself from me. I must admit, I am rather impressed by your resolve," Madara stated smugly.

Jashin raised his scythe high and shouted, **"Shut up, mortal!"**

Madara barely had time to dodge the weapon before Jashin sent him flying with a powerful kick through the wall. He activated his Amaterasu and blanketed the entire area in black flames but was surprised to see the demon unaffected by them.

Jashin casually marched through the enveloping black flames as Madara backed away. **"My host has asked me to kill you…so I shall!"** Jashin cackled as he channeled a massive orb of black chakra into his free arm.

The demon launched the orb as hard and powerful as he could covering an area too wide for Madara to dodge. Seeing as he had no other options, Madara activated his Susanoo. It was successful in negating the attack and began to fully form.

Jashin watched interested as the huge cloak of chakra fully formed into a warrior around Madara. Wasting no time, he charged another attack and launched it towards Madara. The Uchiha blocked with relative ease, but didn't notice the demon flank him shattering through the side of the armor.

Madara felt one of the scythe blade tips puncture his shoulder before launching Jashin against a nearby building. He arrogantly walked towards the demon and laughed, "Nice trick, demon, but you're not getting through this armor again!"

The Uchiha unleashed a massive amount of chakra causing his Susanoo to double in size.

The demon stood up and began to cackle maniacally, **"Oh, but I don't need to. I already have your blood!"**

Madara's eyes went wide as Jashin licked the scythe. Before he could even react, Jashin began to stab himself with the scythe repeatedly.

Madara roared in agony as he felt puncture wounds appearing all around his body. **"Hahaha! Yes, suffer! BLEED! DIE!"** the demon howled as it to claw at its face.

The Uchiha felt blood pouring all over his body and felt light headed. _'How the fuck am I letting something like this happen?! This ends now!' _he thought desperately as he channeled as much chakra as possible into healing himself. Jashin looked confused as the Uchiha continued regenerating despite the agonizing torture.

As he reached the demon, Jashin couldn't bring his weapon up in time to block Susanoo's sword from cleaving him against another building. Madara lifted his arms up and caused chakra chains to rain down from all directions restraining the demon in place. He then shattered the stone sticking from its forehead causing a massive explosion of black chakra to level the entire district.

Madara let out a sigh of relief as he examined the aftermath. Konan was completely unconscious and the stone was splintered into a thousand pieces. He then receded his Susanoo as he walked over to take a closer look.

Something interesting caught his eye though. After the stone was destroyed, the black chakra was visibly channeling into Konan. Upon closer inspection, his Sharingan revealed Konan absorbing Jashin's leftover chakra.

Kakuzu and Shizune made their way over in time to see it. "What on earth is happening, Madara-sama?!" Shizune asked bewildered.

"Where is Hidan?" Kakuzu asked shocked.

"Shouldn't you fools be watching the jinchuuriki?!" the raven haired Uchiha asked irritated.

Kakuzu looked away, "Sasori said he had it under control. Plus, that was quite the blast. We thought we should check the situation."

Madara glanced over at the man and laughed, "Well, Hidan won't be around anymore. His master killed him…but I killed the master. Konan tried to pull a fast one by letting that demon possess her in order to fight me."

Kakuzu's eyes shot out in disbelief, "Hidan's dead?! How is that even possible?!"

Shizune shook her head, "Konan let that thing possess her?!"

Madara nodded, "Yes…apparently she was quite desperate, but now the stone is destroyed. Jashin won't be able to manifest anymore. However, with the stone gone, the power left within it has nowhere else to go but to the host."

"So you're saying Konan absorbed its chakra?" the medic nin asked horrified.

"No need to concern yourselves…I will keep her chained up so she won't interfere with our plans," Madara noted.

Kakuzu crossed his arms, "Why don't you just kill her…she's clearly beyond dangerous now."

Madara laughed, "I'm going to use her as bait to draw Naruto here along with the other jinchuuriki ahahahahaha!"

"He doesn't have them all, and we don't either…" Shizune cut in nervously. Madara sent her a fierce glare, "What do you mean he doesn't have all the others? We're soon to have four once Itachi and Kisame return, and he captured the others already."

"Naruto never acquired the six tails from what I understand. Reports say he abducted the Mizukage with his followers. Weren't you the one that was investigating the six tails, Madara-sama?" Shizune explained.

The Uchiha thought for a moment and laughed, "Oh, hahaha, I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. How could I have forgotten that little bitch kid…I could have sworn Naruto would have picked him up. No matter…I will retrieve him myself. In the mean time, keep Konan in those chains. She won't be able to disperse with chakra chains wrapped around her. I will rely upon you two and Sasori to keep the jinchuuriki sedated until I return, am I understood?"

They both nodded, "Of course Madara-sama."

"Hey, what about that girl you captured? What should we do with her?" Kakuzu asked.

Madara thought for a moment before a smile plastered his face, "I will bring her with me."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Konan wroth in agony as she finally awakened. She quickly surveyed her surroundings and found that she was chained up at the top of her palace tower. A sharp shiver tingled throughout her body as rain began to fall.

The azure beauty tried to disperse but was unable to much to her disbelief. _'What the hell happened? Last thing I remember was…THE STONE?! It was destroyed! Then I guess I lost. Why am I still alive though? This makes no sense!'_

A feeling of hopelessness began to eat away at her as she lied there helplessly unsure of what to do. _'Naruto, I wish you were here…why didn't I go with you?! Why was I so stupid?!' _She screamed in her head.

Konan couldn't believe her own weakness as tears began to freely fall down her face. She looked around at the view of her war-torn village. It was empty thanks to her order…but at the same time that just made it that much more depressing. However she was thankful that nobody was there to see her crying.

The woman closed her amber eyes tightly and decided just to think. Konan's head was spinning, _'I wish I could just leave…fly away and never come back. But I have nowhere to go now. No have no place in this world. This is my punishment…for Naruto.'_

Deep in her own personal torment, Konan didn't notice Shizune come up the stairs, "You seem so upset today, Amekage…is Naruto-kun on your mind?"

Konan's eyes widened in hatred as she turned to see the malicious Shizune staring at her. "What do YOU want?" Konan asked annoyed.

The azure beauty did her best to fight back more tears. "You know, I wonder how Naruto-kun is doing right now. Probably off bedding countless women and wreaking destruction in the east. A true man wouldn't you say? I don't blame you for liking him so much, Konan. He is a really special person…and not just because of his bloodline or Kyuubi. Naruto has always been able to bring out the best in people…even as a notorious, evil warlord hahaha. I mean I just find it so unusual that somebody like you was able to develop feelings for him."

The chained woman didn't give Shizune the satisfaction of a response as she blankly glared at her. Shizune sighed, "You know I'll bet you regret not escaping with him. You could be off with him right now. I wonder though…why did you sell him out?"

Konan's tears began streaming uncontrollably at the thought but she stubbornly remained silent. "I know that if I was in your shoes, I would have sided with Naruto. We could have made a romantic getaway and then he could have unleashed his carnal desires upon his beloved Shizune-neechan," the woman giggled.

Konan sent her a look of disbelief and bit her lip, _'No Konan, don't take her bait…Don't do it.' _

"What do you mean neechan?" Konan asked much to her own regret.

Shizune beamed at the question, "Well…I suppose this must be very awkward for you, but when Naruto-kun was younger, he and I were pretty close. Of course he was a different person back then…so loyal and determined to become Hokage that it was almost inspiring. I always admired his spirit. It really is a shame that he gave up on that dream though. Konoha would have been invincible with him as its Hokage."

"They don't deserve, Naruto!" Konan shouted angrily.

The medic nin nodded her head in agreement, "Yes, I agree with you there. Though I suppose nobody deserves him except you, am I right? Why would a backstabber like you deserve somebody like him?"

Konan refused to answer as she continued staring in the distance. She couldn't believe how deep Shizune's words were cutting her.

"I'm sorry…" Konan whispered barely audible. Shizune looked at her perplexed, "What?"

"I'm sorry for what I did, Naruto…wherever you are I just wish you're okay," Konan muttered to the wind.

"You know…just between the two of us, I know where he is right now," Shizune whispered very quietly.

The azure haired beauty's amber eyes lit up in shock, "What? How?! Why haven't you told Madara?"

Shizune shook her head and frowned, "You know the only difference between our current situations is you are in chains and I'm not."

"Where is Madara? Why didn't he kill me?!" Konan demanded.

Shizune covered the woman's mouth, "Shhh…I am positive Zetsu is in the village right now, so there isn't much time. Sasori and Kakuzu are both preoccupied at the moment as well."

The medic nin leaned in closer, "Madara isn't in the village at the moment, he's off retrieving the six tails. That freak's mind has grown more and more corrupt and perverted over the years. To be quite honest I'm afraid of doing anything to displease him anymore. You saw that vision for yourself right? He tortures and manipulates people to do his bidding with his Sharingan. I've been under his control longer than you…so trust me I get it."

"W-what are you talking about?" Konan whispered back in shock. She didn't know whether or not she could believe Shizune's words.

Shizune sighed, "It's horrible isn't it? Never knowing when he'll show up, never knowing what he might do? Had I known Naruto's power before the events at the Valley of the End, I might have done what Deidara did. Just so you know, Naruto was recently spotted in Kiri kidnapping the Mizukage with his minions. If my guess is right, he's probably going to regroup in his primary base at Oto."

Konan didn't make eye contact as she quietly responded, "How can I ever trust a single word from your lips? Sounds like you're baiting me for some kind of trap."

"You don't have to trust me…just know that you are not alone in this nightmare." Shizune said almost inaudibly. At that moment, the two women shared deep empathy for one another. Much to Konan's utter disbelief, Shizune removed the chains binding her to the wall. She felt weak and collapsed to the ground, but was surprised when the other woman caught her.

"You've been pretending this entire time?" Konan asked in disbelief.

Shizune nodded, "I've been a spy for Madara since I was a child. He's always threatened me to keep me from escaping. Even when I was with Tsunade I always felt as if he was watching me. To be honest, I had given up hope on getting away from that lunatic until recently. However, after seeing Naruto again, so strong and defiant…It was like seeing the same person who stood up to Orochimaru as a kid. Only this time, he was like a knight in shining armor who could save me from Madara."

The azure haired woman looked at her disbelievingly, "You really care about Naruto then huh?"

Shizune nodded, "I envy his companions…to have somebody like him protecting me would be all I would ever want. Well that and other things."

The medic nin began to heal the injured woman much to her relief. Her amber eyes looked away as she spoke, "So, what happens now? Why did you free me?"

"We're getting out of here. I 'forgot' to sedate the jinchuuriki earlier and I'm sure they'll be awake any time now. It'll be enough to throw a kink in Madara's plan for now." Shizune answered. Konan's eyes widened as she frantically leapt to her feet, "We need to escape then."

"It's only a matter of time before Itachi and Kisame get here with the eight tails. If the others can deal with Kakuzu and Sasori before they arrive, they'll probably flee to Konoha for the summit meeting that's been called." She answered.

Konan thought for a moment, "Summit Meeting?"

"We need to leave now, Konan, are you good to fly?" the brunette asked nervously.

She nodded, "Yes, you say Naruto is in Oto? Let's hurry there." Konan levitated off the ground and sprouted six paper wings. Without even hesitating, Shizune, wrapped her arms and legs around Konan as the woman took off.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto tossed and turned in his bed trying desperately to fall asleep. His mind had been in a million places at once stressing what to do next and how to deal with all of his subordinates now. He sighed in frustration as he got out of his bed and walked down the hallway to his office. Upon opening the door, he noticed Guren and Tayuya both talking about recent events.

Guren was lounged comfortably in Naruto's chair and was scantily clad in her night garments. Tayuya was facing away from the door and didn't notice him walk in, "So yeah, what did it feel like when he did that glowing resurrection thing to you?"

"I don't know…it felt really good though," Guren blushed. Tayuya perked up interested, "Well I can't deny that I'm curious. So what's the deal with these other bitches he's hanging out with now? I mean is there anything happening between them? Who's his actual girlfriend right now?"

The crystal kunoichii giggled as she spotted a shirtless Naruto's bewildered expression behind Tayuya. She pretended to be oblivious to Naruto and shrugged at Tayuya, "I don't know, maybe they're all his girlfriends."

Tayuya scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous. What girl in her right mind would go for that? As far as guys go, Naruto is a pretty good catch, but I doubt any of those bitches would share him."

Guren almost broke her bearing as a small smile graced her lips at Naruto's expression. He remained silent much to Guren's approval as the woman continued to allow Tayuya to dig a deeper hole.

"Well, I've heard about stuff like this before…it's not that common among normal people, but none of us are normal. I for one don't really have a problem being in Naruto's harem…as long as he gives me some attention every now and then," Guren said the last part in a sultry seductive manner.

Tayuya raised a brow, "You're crazy. It would take a lot of convincing for me to agree to something like that."

"Maybe you could ask Naruto…I'm sure he'd be willing to oblige," Guren laughed causing Tayuya to blush crimson.

She shook her head and groaned, "Yeah right, I wonder how that would go. 'Oh hey, Naruto, can I jump on your bandwagon of bitches and fuck you?'"

"Well I suppose you could ask him now…he's right there!" Guren fell out of the chair laughing causing Tayuya to turn around horrified. "W-what?! N-N-Naruto?! How long have you been standing there?!"

"He's been there the entire time hahaha!" Guren laughed hysterically as she stood up.

Tayuya embarrassedly tried to leave the room but was blocked by Guren who was smiling menacingly. "Oh, Tayuya, don't be shy. I mean he is right here already half naked. Naruto looked at the two women curiously, "You're acting awfully feisty tonight, Guren. What's got into you?"

She licked her lips and thought for a moment, "Well hopefully you will by the end of the night, but I'm just feeling all jittery and excited since you're back."

"Must be a side-effect of being separated from my Rinnegan's power for a prolonged period of time," Naruto noted.

Guren walked over to the jinchuuriki as seductively as possible and without hesitation pressed her lips against his. After a brief makeout, Guren laughed, "Tayuya come jump on the bandwagon with me."

The red head awkwardly stood there unsure of what to do in this situation. She blushed furiously at the thought of what could possibly happen depending on her next actions.

Guren made her way over to Tayuya and grabbed her hand pulling her closer to Naruto. "Come on, don't be so shy. I mean you seemed so sure about this a moment ago."

"Guren, you're making this awkward for me." Tayuya spoke up shyly. The crystal kunoichii giggled at Tayuya's behavior.

"If you feel uncomfortable, Tayuya, you don't have to," Naruto cut in. Tayuya looked at him desperately worried, "NO NO, I never said that I didn't want to…it's just I feel weird with her in here too."

Guren sighed as she glanced at Naruto, "Be gentle with her. she's probably a virgin or something. I'll be in your bedroom. Once she's had enough you can come fuck me to your heart's content…or your cock's."

Without another word Guren left the office. Tayuya quickly rushed over and locked the door before sighing in relief. It was then she felt extremely hot being locked alone in a room with Naruto. She pulled her hat off and let her hair free as she turned around and met an amused Naruto sitting cross armed on his desk.

Without another word she wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and began to kiss him forcefully. She moaned in pleasure as the man groped her ass. "This better not be a fucking dream!" She yelled between kisses.

Tayuya pinned Naruto down over the desk and she ran her hands over his stomach. "Hey, Naruto…how do you feel about roleplaying?" she suggested with a grin as she straddled him.

"I don't know…I never really tried it before," he answered honestly. The redhead laughed, "Hell yeah…I get to be your first sexual roleplaying experience!"

Naruto gave her a quizzical look, "So what exactly do we do?"

The fiery redhead licked her lips, "I want you to tie me up and pretend I'm some girl you kidnapped."

**"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Okay she's my new favorite!"** Kyuubi laughed hysterically.

The jinchuuriki gave her a bizarre look, "Is this why you didn't want Guren in here?"

"I want you to tie me up and have your way with me! I'm going to stay in character…so don't stop okay?"

"I don't know how I feel about this…" he trailed off.

"**Well this is going to be a classic right here hahaha!" **Kyuubi chuckled.

Tayuya quickly searched the room and found some rope. "Tie me up tight! I'm about to get into character!"

'_Well…this ought to be interesting.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A somewhat exhausted Naruto was leaving his office after a long eventful session with Tayuya. The red head was currently passed out naked on his desk covered in a blanket. He was just thankful that the room was soundproof because she probably would have been loud enough to wake up the entire building. He finally felt like he was tired enough to get some well-deserved rest.

As he plopped down on his bed, he felt another body lying next to him. It was then he remembered what Guren said. _'Oh shit…I forgot about this. I'm too tired right now.' _

"**You chose to have this many mates…it would be less than fitting for you to deny this one now," **Kyuubi commented.

'_I'm never going to get over how creepy it is that you're in my head watching it. You cheering me on while I was with Tayuya was beyond weird.' _Naruto noted.

"**No…creepy was being in Kushina's head. She was quite…wild I suppose you could say." **

'_I didn't need that visual…I could have gone the rest of my life without ever picturing you watching my mother have sex,' _Naruto responded dryly.

"**Imagine how I felt. Although at least she didn't talk to me about it. Well she didn't really talk to me at all come to think of it. At any rate, deal with your mate here so we can discuss tactics," **Kyuubi ordered.

Agreeing with the fox's statement, he immediately wrapped an arm around the body lying in bed with him. It was pitch black in the room, but Naruto could make out the outline of the spiky haired purple kunoichi. A surprised yelp came from her lips feeling Naruto's arm reaching under the sheets.

It didn't take long before the woman was pulling his pants off. She then flipped their positions and straddled him. Much to his surprise, Naruto discovered that she was already naked. He laughed, "You don't waste any time do you?"

She pushed him down on the bed and forced her tongue into his mouth as she held his arms down. He felt himself getting more and more turned on by the woman's silent sexual aggression. As she broke their kiss for air she laughed, "Oh, Naruto, I love how wrong this is. It makes it that much better hahaha. I always knew you thought I was hot. Did you ever fantasize about this?"

The woman's voice was clearly not Guren's. Naruto perked his head up in surprise, "Wait, you're not Guren?"

Just then a light turned on and a scantily clad Guren was standing in the doorway with an annoyed glare on her face. "Naruto…just what the hell are you doing with her?"

"Wait, Guren! This isn't what it looks like, I thought she was you," Naruto spoke up in defense before he even actually realized who was on top of him. One quick look at the woman revealed her to be none other than the nymphomaniac snake mistress, Anko.

Anko glanced over at Guren's flustered expression and laughed, "I was just lying in bed, and he decided to have his way with me. Who am I do deny our leader?"

"You were lying naked in his bed? Get the fuck out of here slut. Naruto's mine right now!" Guren said irritated.

Anko pressed her bare chest against Naruto's face and held the back of his head, "Oh but my precious student wants to fuck his old sensei!"

Naruto pulled his face out of her soft chest and laughed, "Since when were you ever my sensei?"

Anko sent him a seductive glare, "I was your sexual education instructor…don't you remember? I gave you all those naked pictures of me."

"Wait what? That never happened! Guren wait, listen, I don't know what she's talking about!" Naruto explained. Anko covered his mouth with her hand and looked over at Guren with an amused smile, "We've been lovers for a long time…by default I have priority over you."

Guren sent Naruto a disapproving glare, "You can't be serious…I thought you and I were going to do it tonight. Hell I even left you and Tayuya alone just out of kindness."

The snake mistress glanced back down at Naruto with an approving nod, "Fucking all these women, and you're still not satisfied? Don't worry…I'll make sure you're tired this time."

Naruto blushed at the woman's demeanor. Part of him still felt awkward having a former instructor seducing him. Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but imagine what kinds of kinky things Anko would do.

The crystal Kunoichi locked the door behind herself and crossed her arms, "I'm not leaving until you fuck me…she'll have to wait her damn turn!"

"Hey…how's about you join us? We're all sluts here. The more the merrier!" Anko suggested.

Guren gave her a disapproving glare, "Who are you calling a slut? I have standards after all!"

"Guren, don't be like that…if you're onboard with this little entourage, then you better lighten the fuck up," Anko laughed as she went back to making out with Naruto.

**(Fanservice No Jutsu…Ugh I mean Lemon Alert)**

The sight annoyed Guren who ran over and tackled the naked woman off the bed and to the ground. Anko quickly straddled the woman's back and held her arms down as she started grinding against Guren. The snake mistress moaned loudly as Guren struggled to get up.

The purple haired seductress began to lick Guren's ear and whispered, "Naruto and I are going to make your fantasies come true."

"Get the fuck off of me!" Guren shouted as she managed to roll over and pin Anko down. Seizing the opportunity, Anko wrapped her legs around Guren's back and started bucking against her stomach. It wasn't long before Guren felt a hot moisture around over her shirt.

Anko moaned louder as she flailed into it harder. "Naruto, she's dry humping me! Get her off!" Guren shouted as she tried to stand up.

"Looks like wet humping to me," he laughed. Finally after wrestling her arms free, Guren threw the woman across the room onto the ground.

The purple haired seductress just shook her head and chuckled, "Well if you're going to be like that, you can just watch us instead."

Anko immediately pounced Naruto onto the bed and positioned herself over him before sliding down hard. She let out a coo of pleasure and leaned back as she bit her lip.

"I want you to fuck me in front of her until she's dripping wet!" Anko commanded as she began to slam up and down at a ridiculous speed. Naruto felt as if his manhood was about to snap off by the woman's sheer force. Yet at the same time, her pace nearly caught him surprise causing him to let out a loud moan.

"I'm going to fuck you dry, Naruto! I'm going to fuck you so hard that just the mere thought of me will make you cum!" Anko moaned pleasurably as she rode harder and harder.

Guren couldn't help but be turned on by the sight of Naruto squirming underneath Anko's sexual domination. The woman clearly had a lot of experience and was having her way with him.

'_Holy shit, I don't know how long I can last with her at this rate!' _Naruto thought as reached his arms up to cup her breasts. Anko yelped in surprise as he squeezed her curvaceous boobs and temporarily stopped bucking as she leaned back and moaned.

Unable to watch it anymore, Guren quickly undressed herself and pushed Anko off of Naruto causing both of them to groan in ecstasy. Anko remained motionless for a moment as she felt her dripping wet pussy and caught her breath.

Wasting no time, Guren grabbed his erect manhood and began to stroke it. Naruto groaned in pleasure as she began to bob her head up and down. While she was distracted, by Naruto, Guren didn't notice Anko get behind her and stick her fingers inside of her pussy. "OHH!" Guren squealed before she started choking. She took her mouth off of Naruto's cock leaving it covered in saliva and turned back in shock to see Anko eating her out from behind.

She released a loud moan as ectasy washed over her entire body. "It feels so good..." she muttered before quickly before regaining her senses. She quickly kicked Anko off the bed turned around to face the woman as she lowered herself onto Naruto.

Anko looked over and grinned devilishly at the sight of Guren riding him in reverse. The crytal kunoichi sent her a smug glare as she moaned loudly. Despite this, Anko simply took advantage of the woman's position and began to make out with her. Naruto grabbed Guren's boobs from behind as she bucked up and down causing her to stop for a moment. She lifted up slightly but almost screamed when Naruto started bucking into her from below.

"AHHHH! N-N-Naruto!" she barely muttered before Anko's tongue silenced her.

Anko grinned devilishly after breaking the kiss as a great idea came to her mind. The snake mistress motioned for Naruto to shift Guren down to where her face was between Anko's legs. Guren could barely stop herself from squealing as Naruto fucked her from behind. Taking advantage of this, Anko pressed the woman's face over her pussy.

"Oh yeah, scream into it, you slut! Put your tongue in too!" Anko moaned as she forcefully bobbed Guren's head around. Guren surrendered to ecstasy as she began to lick Anko fervently. The snake mistress squirmed and writhed as Guren began to flail her head and hum.

Anko glanced up and licked her lips when she saw the look on Naruto's face. "My turn again!" She then rolled Guren over and reversed their positions. Anko waved her ass in front of Naruto, "Oh no, I've been captured! Please don't hurt me, Pein, I'll do ANYTHING if you let me live!"

Naruto looked at her amused, "I've already sailed that ship tonight…hahaha."

Without wasting another second, he grabbed the woman's hips and began to slam her from behind. Anko moaned uncontrollably and then began to eat Guren out.

The crystal Kunochi began to shake and convulse from it, "Oh god, I'm about to cum!"

Anko then stuck two fingers in and hooked them up before jerking up and down repeatedly causing Guren to squirt everywhere. "AHHHHHH! Fuck! AHHH Oh! OOOOooh!"

Guren was shaking from her orgasm and panted heavily as she met the overly satisfied look of Anko. The snake mistress flipped her off and laughed, "You lose, Guren, ahahaha!"

Naruto felt as if he wasn't far behind and kept his breath steady. Much to his surprise however, Anko flipped around and spread her legs into a missionary position. She grabbed her boobs and squeezed them hard as Naruto continued.

"Oh yeah, that's right! Look into my eyes, I want you to look at me when you do it!" Anko moaned between words. Guren looked on in envy as the two were reaching their climaxes. "I want us to come together! You ready?! OH! OHHHH!" She screamed as she and Naruto both achieved their climax. Anko's hands were wrapped around Naruto's back and began to claw wildly as the two rode out their orgasms.

They continued until Naruto finally collapsed over in exhaustion. Anko looked down at her dripping wet pussy and giggled in pleasure, "Well that was long overdue."

**(Lemon Is over)**

Guren took this opportunity to crawl over Anko and onto Naruto, "I told you I'm not leaving until you fuck me…that thing she did doesn't count!"

"Yeah…just give me a few minutes," he laughed.

'_Oh Kyuubi…it's another one of those nights where I don't get to sleep.' _

"**Too bad…"**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next day, Naruto woke to Guren and Anko both naked beside him. He let out a sigh, _'I need to deal with Yagura today…'_

Naruto tried to get up but was stopped as Anko pulled him back down, "No don't go yet."

He looked over at the woman and saw her grinning at him with a distant look on her face. "Good morning sensei," he joked causing the woman to giggle in delight.

"Wow, you're a fun fuck Naruto…I hope I was able to sate your appetite because there is plenty more where that came from," Anko said sexily as she straddled him again.

"Yeah, I look forward to it…but right now I have to deal with some stuff, Anko. I feel like I've been on vacation for the last two weeks," Naruto replied. Anko looked slightly put off by his comment, but quickly cheered up when he pulled her into a hug and kissed her.

"I'm glad you came, Anko…though I must admit I'm kind of curious why?" Naruto asked.

The snake mistress looked away and sighed, "I remember the day you left, Konoha…the moment I saw you outside of the village without your headband, I knew what was going on."

"Did you ever regret not stopping me?" he asked curiously. She gave him an amused look and shook her head, "Hell no! To be honest…I wish I would have gone with you. Konoha has never felt like home to me. I can understand why you left. I would have left for the exact same reason. Those people judged us before they even got to know who we really were."

Naruto nodded in agreement, "Leaving Konoha was probably the best decision I made in my entire life. That god damned council was quick to condemn me over so much pointless bullshit. So what happened after I left exactly?"

Anko shrugged, "It was stupid…everybody acted like they were so surprised and hurt that you were gone. Personally, it annoyed the hell out of me."

"Looking back on it now, I just can't believe I let people treat me like shit for all those years," Naruto said distantly as he recalled his past.

"To be honest, Sasuke is probably the most sincere person about you going missing. Whatever you did to him back then completely changed him."

"It's just crazy all of this started with him and me. I was really against it at first, but Guren and Kimimaro seem pretty confidant that he's proven his loyalty. Hopefully, we can be friends again," Naruto replied.

"You know Tsunade wa-" Anko started but was quickly silenced as Naruto covered her mouth. "I don't want to talk about this anymore," he stated callously. She nodded her head with understanding and rolled off of him.

As Naruto got out of bed and put his pants on, Anko spoke up, "Outcasts like us should always stick together. If the world wants to hate us for being different, then they can go to hell."

He turned and smiled at the woman, "You're not an outcast anymore, Anko…I'll always be here for you."

Her heart began to race extremely fast as her cheeks went crimson. Anko couldn't believe how flustered that comment just made her feel.

She quickly looked away with a massive blush plastered over her face, "You really mean that don't you?"

Before he even had time to process the situation, Anko had her arms around his neck and was kissing him desperately.

No more words were spoken between the two as a crimson faced Anko backed away and went back to the bed. Naruto gave her one last smile before exiting the room.

Upon closing the door behind him, Naruto awkwardly met the passing gaze of Haku who gave him a suspicious glance. "Did you sleep well, Naruto?" Haku asked carefully.

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, "Ugh…not as well as I'd like, but for the most part yeah."

"Why do you have so many women, Naruto? Am I not enough for you?" Haku asked jealously. He gave her a surprised look.

Before he could answer, she grabbed his hand and placed it over her curvaceous chest. "I don't approve of you being such a whore…but if you're going to be that way, then I want more sex," Haku whispered seductively.

Naruto stood there quietly as Haku began to rub his hand up and down her chest before sticking it further down. **"I think you've bitten off more than you can chew, kit. This is happening way too often now."**

A soft moan escaped her lips as she blushed. Just then, a sultry red head came around the corner with a casual look of boredom. She quickly noticed the scenario and shook her head, _'What an amateur.'_

Haku was quick to yelp in surprise when she spotted Mei. "What are you doing here?"

Mei crossed her arms and raised a brow, "It's your turn to watch Yagura…come now hurry up, princess."

The snow princess grimaced in disbelief as Mei shooed her down the hallway before turning back to Naruto.

"So I've got a question for you, Naruto," Mei asked as she began to catwalk towards him. As she made her way closer she swayed her hips, "So, out of all of us, who would you say is the best in bed?"

Much to her embarrassment, Fu came walking from behind and pushed her against the wall, "Clearly me since I have two scores and all of you only have one."

Mei brushed a hand through her hair and laughed, "Oh is that right? Well quantity doesn't beat quality. You might be his go to girl for a quicky, but I'm his vixen."

"MEI! You lying bitch! It's not my turn to watch Yagura!" Haku shouted as she came charging around the corner. Fu and Mei were both surprised as the woman tackled Mei to the ground.

As this scene unfolded, they didn't notice Naruto make a quick escape into a nearby room. He let out a quick sigh of relief,_ 'Damn…they've grown awfully attached to me lately. How the hell am I ever going to get anything done around here?!'_

Naruto took a moment to look around the room to determine his surroundings. He was shocked when he noticed a petrified Yugito lying there with sheets draped across her front. She had a deathly shocked look on her face.

"W-what are you doing in my room?!" She yelled frantically. Naruto heard the fighting outside in the hallway dying down and looked back at her worried, "Shhh…they'll hear you."

Yugito was about to scream before Naruto managed to cover the distance and cup her mouth. She immediately assumed the worst and started clawing at him. He grimaced in pain as the woman bit him and tried to kick him where it hurts. Thankfully he managed to block the kick but fell off the bed taking the sheet covering Yugito with him.

"W-wait, this is a misunderstanding, Yugito…I just need you to be quiet so they don't find me," Naruto whispered desperately as he stood up pulling the sheets off of him. One quick look and he noticed an embarrassed Yugito covering her chest and crotch, "You pervert!"

Naruto heard shuffling outside in the hallway, "Where did Naruto go?"

Much to his utter relief he heard Zabuza's voice, "He went outside that way."

'_Oh thank you, Zabuza…now I just have to get out of here,' _Naruto thought as he started heading to the exit.

"So you just thought you'd come into my room and have your way with me, is that it?" Yugito shrieked.

Naruto tried to open the door and escape, but found the handle wouldn't move.

'**Very funny, Zabuza…' **he sent a mental message to the swordsman which was met with the sound of quiet, barely restrained laughter on the other side of the door.

"What kind of a sick pervert are you?!" Yugito demanded as she quickly covered herself in the sheet.

Naruto turned around slowly, "I'm sorry, I didn't know anybody was in here, I wouldn't have come in here if I knew you were naked."

"Yeah you would have…you just can't restrain yourself anymore knowing there's a woman in here who you haven't defiled," Yugito spoke up dramatically.

He sighed, "Don't you think you're being a bit overdramatic…I am sorry for the misunderstanding, I'll just be on my way now."

"Wait!" she shouted much to his complete surprise. Naruto could hear the sound of furious scribbling from outside the door.

"What?" he asked confused as the woman shyly looked away.

Yugito took a few deep breaths before mustering the courage to speak, "Why would you be hiding in here from those other women? Don't you get off on screwing everything that moves?"

Naruto glanced at the door and back at her, "It's fun, but distracting…I have stuff I need to do today."

She huffed in disapproval, "Your stupid little concubines or girlfriends or whatever they are to you, kept me up all night with their screaming!"

"Oh…sorry," he chuckled.

She scowled at him, "That's not supposed to be funny! You should be ashamed of yourself. I'm pretty sure you've fucked every girl in your company except for me! You're just some kind of crazed, perverted, sex demon."

"Why do you care?" he asked interested.

She sent him a cold glare, "Don't get any funny ideas…you disgust me. This little fan club of yours just isn't normal. I want to know why they all like you so much. You don't seem like anything special to me!"

Naruto shrugged at her insult, "I don't know what you want me to say…"

"You think you're so hot don't you ? That you can get any girl you want? Or for that matter every girl you want?!" She scoffed.

The jinchuuriki took a few steps closer to her and sat on the bed much to her surprise. She timidly backed away from him, "W-what are you doing?"

"Nothing, in fact, let's talk about you for a little bit, Yugito…tell me how your life was as a jinchuuriki," he suggested.

She bit her lip and looked away, "How do you think?! You wouldn't care anyways…so just go away."

Naruto sighed as he stood up, "Things don't have to be like this between us. I can understand, you probably feel like I'm trying to take advantage of you. Believe me, the thought would never cross my mind. We can just be friends if you want…or you can keep pretending like you're a victim and complain about my hospitality. Just keep in mind that there are worse people than me in the world. I'm the only thing keeping you safe from Akatsuki."

Without another word, he stood up and made his way to the door. Zabuza was no longer in the hallway much to his relief.

Yugito awkwardly fell back onto her bed and sighed in frustration, _'The thought never even crossed his mind once?'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Well that's a wrap for chapter 16. **I hope you guys thoroughly enjoyed this chapter. I managed to write it in a few days. Anyways let's go over our usual chapter review.

Konan's gone rogue?! Hell yeah, she's on her way back! Shizune is a double, double agent? Shit just got real. Madara's going to be pissed when he gets back.

Okay so I know somebody is going to say something about it so I'll just address it now…Yes I realize there is probably way too much porn in this story now. I'm sorry if it bothers any of you. I put the warnings there so you can skip over it just in case. Most of you probably think I'm some kind of perv by now lol. Oh well, it can't be helped. It is a harem after all…

The action is about to stir up for real this time. Naruto still needs his final two paths and of course there's that summit meeting coming soon! :O

Thanks for reading, and as always I love you guys. Your loyal reviews have saved this story from death about four times now haha.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: A Jinchuuriki's Fate**

Itachi and Kisame casually approached the entrance to the surprisingly desolate Amegakure. The Uchiha looked around suspiciously before speaking up, "Something's wrong…"

Before Kisame could even answer, they heard a massive explosion come from the center of the village. They traded confused glances before taking off at high speed to investigate. Kisame, who had an unconscious Killer Bee slung over his shoulder, growled in irritation, "You don't suppose one of the villages attacked do you?"

The calm Itachi sighed as they leapt over rooftops, "I doubt it…this place is deserted. Something happened here while we were away."

"Do you think Pein attacked?!" Kisame asked slightly concerned. Before Itachi could answer, the two landed near the source of the explosion and were shocked to see three jinchuuriki loose. Gaara, Han, and Roshi were all three awake and currently fighting Sasori and Kakuzu.

Kisame looked at Itachi with a bewildered look, "What the hell happened here?"

"Looks like they weren't properly restrained…" Itachi noted calmly. Kakuzu and Sasori seemed to be struggling to hold the three jinchuuriki back. Gaara appeared to be in a bloodlust as he annihilated Sasori's puppets by the dozen.

Kakuzu on the other hand was desperately struggling to stay alive against Han and Roshi. Kisame shook his head and sighed as he placed Killer Bee's unconscious body on the ground, "I'll take care of this. Keep an eye on the eight tails, Itachi."

As the shark nin approached, Kakuzu was the first to notice and appeared completely relieved as Kisame drew Samehada and attacked Roshi. The four tail's jinchuuriki was blind sided by the massive blade much to everybody's surprise.

Roshi instantly fell back towards Han and looked concerned as he noticed Itachi as well. He desperately glanced around for Gaara. When he spotted the red head he started shouting, "Kazekage, get out of here! Han and I will cover you! Somebody has to warn the Kages!"

Gaara instantly relented his attacks for a moment as he caught Roshi's order. He thought hard for a moment what to do, but upon seeing Itachi and Kisame, he immediately considered his escape a priority. "Just go, Kazekage, before more arrive! My master and I are expendable, but you have political power! Get help!" Han added desperately as he tried to parry Kisame's massive attacks.

Seeing as he had no other choice, Gaara began to take off on a dune wave of sand. Kisame immediately felt his adrenaline go insane upon seeing the jinchuuriki escaping. "Sasori, stop being useless and catch him!" The shark nin roared furiously as both Han and Roshi activated chakra cloaks.

"Where is your back up?! Where the hell is Konan or Hidan? Where is Tobi?!" Kisame demanded furiously as he turned towards Kakuzu.

"Hidan is dead, Tobi isn't here, and Konan and Shizune both disappeared," Kakuzu answered as he sent his masks towards Han.

"Itachi, don't let the eight tails out of your sight!" Kisame shouted angrily. Itachi calmly glanced over in Gaara's direction as he picked Killer Bee up.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, Gaara was riding a sand wave at high speed out of the village. He did not feel alright leaving his other two fellow captives behind, but he knew he had to reach Konoha. _'How did we even end up in this mess? Were those others all jinchuuriki as well? Last thing I remember was…chains and black fire.'_

After Gaara made a considerable distance, he looked back and spotted Sasori tailing after him at high speed. Rage instantly returned as Gaara stopped in his tracks and turned around. Sasori landed in front of him and shook his head, "You do not honestly think that you are going to escape?"

The sand surrounding the Kazekage began to swirl around the two at high speed causing Sasori to look around anxiously. "You're going to die for attacking my village!" Gaara roared furiously as the encircling sandstorm grew more intense.

Sasori pulled a scroll off of his back and glared, "You really think so? I was winning our last battle before all of your little friends showed up."

"You would have died if your partner didn't intervene to stop me. Who is he?!" Gaara demanded coldly. The puppet master gave Gaara a careless shrug, "His name is Tobi. Beyond that, there is nothing else you really need to know."

Gaara cracked a fist as his eyes narrowed into a death glare, "He is your leader isn't he? Well he isn't going to save you this time! NOW YOU DIE!"

Sasori summoned the third Kazekage and began to create iron sand. Immediately recognizing this, Gaara unleashed a volley of sand waves towards the puppet master but was unsuccessful in hitting him as Sasori skillfully dodged.

The sandstorm surrounding Gaara began to pick up speed as more and more sand began to manifest from his chakra. The Kazekage held up his arms and roared, "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As Naruto walked down the hallway, he approached the large room where Yagura was being monitored. He glanced over at a random medic nin in the room, "What's his condition? Why has he not awakened yet?"

"Lord Pein, forgive me!" the medic nin bowed to Naruto's feet before speaking again, "The subject appears to be in some kind of coma. Physically, however, he will make a full recovery. We cannot be certain what the cause of his mental condition is, but his chakra has been radically shifting for the past several days."

Naruto nodded as he walked past the man and patted him on the head, "Take a break, I want to try something."

"Of course, Lord!" The man bowed low before leaving.

"**These people are so skittish…though he is right to fear you," **Kyuubi noted.

'_What should I do with him, Kyuubi? Why is he in a_ coma_ you wonder?'_ Naruto asked confused as he examined the grey haired Mizukage more closely. Despite his stature, Yagura was definitely a formidable jinchuuriki from what Naruto heard. He knew that the man was probably injured back during his battle, but he figured Yagura would have awoken long before now.

Kyuubi sighed, **"Hmm…it seems Sanbi is asleep right now. My best guess is the Mizukage's seal has placed some kind of restraint on their connection."**

'_I have never heard of anything like that…' _Naruto trailed off. Kyuubi huffed, **"Well, most jinchuuriki seals are similar, but they are all inherently different in some way. His appears to shut his mind down whenever he uses too much power. Perhaps it was a fail safe in case he ever lost control."**

'_Interesting…so what about my seal with you? I mean I am able to use your power, but a lot of these other jinchuuriki actually seem like they are able to transform.'_

"**Sadly, you have never been able to do that," **Kyuubi noted. _'Would it ever be possible for me to fully acquire your power?' _Naruto asked curiously.

The fox chuckled at his question, **"Well I can't say for sure. Although, I've never really had as good of a relationship with my other containers as I do with you. Mito and Kushina's seals were designed to restrain me completely. Yours connects us. So to answer your question, it is most likely possible."**

'_Would you ever be okay with something like that?' _Naruto continued fascinated.

"**You have always had potential, and I am glad that I was able to get through to you before Konoha chained you to their pathetic, idealistic prison of lies. Honestly, as far as most mortals go, you are the only one that I have ever had any kind of respect for."**

'_You're not half bad fox…we may disagree at times, but I value your opinion. Although, you know the thing I don't understand is why you seem so content to stay with me now. Do you no longer desire freedom?'_ Naruto asked curiously.

"**This may come as a surprise to you, but just as I have always protected your life, you have always protected mine. The Uchiha's Sharingan is rendered useless against me as long as we remain connected."**

'_So you're afraid of Madara? Why? Is he really that powerful, and for that matter what does he even want with you?'_ Naruto queried.

"**I knew Madara was still alive…I even know the real reason why he wants jinchuuriki. He wants to fulfill that prophecy from your little book."**

'_WHAT?! Wait…why did that never cross my mind?! It makes sense. So he wants to recreate the Sage of Six Paths? So where do the bijou fit into this plan?'_

"**I thought it would be obvious by now…he wants the ten tails. Though, I doubt his ambitions behind something like this would be so simple. I cannot fully comprehend his plan's design yet…though if you do your job right, we won't even have to concern ourselves with it."**

'_So if I remember the book correctly…he wants to do what the Rikudo Sennin did and make himself Juubi's jinchuuriki? How would he do that though…he does not have the Rinnegan?' _Naruto asked shocked.

"**Now you see why I warned you away from him. You and I are both a means to an end for the Uchiha. Although, to be honest kit, I highly doubt things are as simple as they appear to be. You need your real power if you intend on defeating him. However, for the time being, the best thing you can do is keep the other jinchuuriki out of his reach. Madara is very powerful, even in comparison to you…and he wants your Rinnegan. One slip up and he could easily take everything from you."**

'_I don't understand, Kyuubi…what do I have to do?! I mean what is this real power you keep talking about?!' _Naruto shouted in frustration. **"Real power is not playing king and wasting time with your harem. Real power is not capturing villages or spreading fear to ignorant masses. No, real power is felt by all within your presence. Real power is bending the world around you without even thinking about it. Real power is accepting what you are and becoming who you were born to be."**

'_Well my birth is nothing more than a product of a mixed breeding experiment from Madara. I understand all of that, Kyuubi. I need to fully awaken the Rinnegan and master my powers. However, what I don't get is where do you fit into all of this, fox?'_

Kyuubi sighed deeply, **"You already know the answer to that. Clearly because it is in both of our best interests to remain together."**

'_No, I want real answers…I'm tired of you avoiding this subject.'_

**Why do I always have to spell things out for you, kit? Do you really not understand what my motive is in all of this yet?" **

'_Damn it Kyuubi, I am fucking sick of your cryptic, condescending bullshit! I want answers right now! What are you?!' _Naruto shouted in his mindscape annoyed.

"**Kit, I have something I need to tell you…"**

'_I have a bad feeling about this,' _Naruto responded concerned.

"**Your seal is broken!"**

'_What?!' _Before he had a chance to do anything else, he was sucked into his own mindscape and found himself in an oddly familiar yet distant sewer.

"Kyuubi! What the hell is going on?!" Naruto shouted as he charged down the hallways towards the cage's location. Upon entering Kyuubi's prison, Naruto saw a massive amount of red chakra bubbling through the bars.

He ran close to the cage and met the familiar glowing red eyes. "Kyuubi why did you bring me here? What do you mean my seal is broken?!"

Before the fox even bothered answering, he head butted the cage as hard as possible causing the bars to crack. Naruto looked up in surprise to see the seal on the cage rip off. "How is this even possible?!"

Without a second thought, Kyuubi head butted the cage again and shattered through the bars.

"**The seal has been weak for years. Our power constantly intermingles. It was only a matter of time before we broke it,"** Kyuubi answered calmly as he began to pace around Naruto. The man circled around watching the fox carefully unsure of what to do.

"So what happens now, Kyuubi…" Naruto spoke up carefully to break the awkward silence. The fox laughed as he shook his massive head, **"You wanted answers? Fine, I will give you answers. We nine bijou were created when the sage of six paths split our true form before dying. Each of us is a part of the greater whole of the ten tails."**

The man didn't respond as he continued to stare at Kyuubi. The fox waited a few moments before continuing, **" I just so happen to be the aspect of Juubi's spirit. I contain the most of his power, but I am like a part of his will, so to speak."**

"So…what does that make you?!" Naruto asked bewildered. Kyuubi sat down much to Naruto's surprise, **"I am not the ten tails. Juubi is an empty shell whose mind is dormant. The same one you used to battle Akatsuki in the Valley of the End. Do you remember your battle? The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path resonated when you combined it with my chakra."**

"So what you are saying is the statue is the ten tails?! So the reason it became incredibly powerful when it was channeling your chakra is because your power was originally from it?" Naruto questioned fascinated.

"**Yes, now you understand."**

"So what is your motive then, fox? You want to become whole with the other bijou?" Naruto asked.

The fox huffed, **"No, in fact I want the opposite. Similar to us, Juubi has a mind of his own. I have no desire to give up my freedom to become that thing again. However, since you have control over the statue, you might be able to seal the three tails within it should Yagura prove troublesome."**

"That seems like a bad idea, Kyuubi. I mean just how aware is the ten tails?" Naruto replied skeptically.

"**The ten tails won't awaken unless all of us are sealed into the statue. So long as several other bijou reside within it out of Madara's reach, it will work perfectly."**

"Why? What can Madara do to them?" the man wondered aloud. **"He can make himself their jinchuuriki…"**

"You've grown so much…my son." A desperate and emotional voice spoke up causing both Naruto and Kyuubi to look over towards the broken cage in disbelief.

Upon one glance, Kyuubi growled fiercely, **"YOU! What are you doing here!?"**

"I don't have much time son. With the seal gone, I will fade away soon," the figure continued.

Naruto felt a thousand emotions swirling through him as he spotted golden spiky hair and ice blue eyes. "Yondaime, what are you doing here?" Naruto spoke as he started to glare at the man.

"Naruto, what happened to you?" the fourth Hokage asked rather surprised as he examined his son's appearance.

The jinchuuriki was unsure of how to respond to his father. Naruto remained silent as the two stared at each other for a long moment.

Finally, Minato spoke up, "So, you've awakened the mythical Rinnegan? I always thought it was legend. What has happened since then? What does Konoha have you doing these days?"

"**He left Konoha just so you know, fool. The kit agreed with me in that staying with Konoha would only hinder him," **Kyuubi cut in annoyed.

Minato's eyes went wide, "You…left Konoha?"

Naruto couldn't find the words to respond and looked away somewhat shamefully.

Kyuubi snorted in disgust, **"Don't act all surprised, Yondaime! Did you really think he was going to waste his life letting some bitch council keep him on a leash?!"**

The blonde man looked extremely sad from the news, "Naruto, are you a missing nin now? What have you been doing all of these years?"

"Making a better world for myself," Naruto answered finally breaking his silence.

Minato sighed deeply, "This is all my fault…had I protected Kushina better during childbirth, Kyuubi never would have broken free."

"What?!" Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I am so sorry that I forced this horrible fate upon you my son. I wish I could have been there to help you…to save you from this monster's dark and terrible influence. I can't even imagine what kinds of things Kyuubi has done to pervert your mind," The fourth Hokage continued.

"**You're a fool if you still honestly believe that I am the one at fault here. I have done nothing but guide your son to a better future. You have no right to call yourself his father…" **Kyuubi interrupted venomously.

Yondaime sent a glare towards the fox, before turning back to Naruto with a frown, "This must be difficult for you to deal with, Naruto. However, it's not too late for you to change your ways. Who is the Hokage right now? Perhaps you could get reinstated to the village if you returned."

"**Don't listen to this fucking idiot…you have no idea what's even going on right now, Yondaime!" **Kyuubi shouted. His tails smashed around violently.

Minato glanced over at Naruto again, "What is going on, Naruto?"

"To answer your question, the Hokage right now is Tsunade. I on the other hand am most notorious SS class criminal in the world. I go by the name of Pein. For the last several years I have been having encounters and battles with a group known as Akatsuki. Right now, I am dealing with them," Naruto answered callously.

The Hokage nodded his head in understanding, "I see, so you left the village on your own to hunt down dangerous criminals, but probably got tagged in the Bingo Book in other nations when they realized you have the Rinnegan. You're doing the village a service then. I know Tsunade-san very well. She is a kind and loving woman, and I have no doubts that she would accept you back, Naruto."

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted at the man causing him to hang his head dejectedly, "Do you honestly not understand what made me leave?! IT WAS THE GOD DAMNED VILLAGERS AND THAT FUCKING COUNCIL!"

Minato's eyes went wide with disbelief at his son's outburst. Kyuubi nodded his head in agreement, **"Those corrupt, bureaucratic bitches were talking about exiling or executing him for almost killing an Uchiha kid who was trying to leave the village. Even though he brought the kid back, the pathetic little council decided to blame him for the whole ordeal. Do you honestly not remember Danzo?! He is at the heart of that festering village's council. Things are vastly different from the days that Kushina was a jinchuuriki!"**

"Forget the council for a minute. What about the villagers? You mean to say that the village didn't like you? Why?! You're a hero for being Kyuubi's container," Minato spoke up in disbelief.

"**You clearly don't understand, Yondaime. Those idiots actually believe that he is me," **Kyuubi cut in annoyed.

Minato sighed, "I did not think it would be like this. Still, for you to abandon the will of fire…that is something I just can't fathom. Perhaps the villagers misunderstood due to the nature of your seal. Since you used Kyuubi's chakra, they might believe something wrong. Did you ever try to prove them wrong by being a great Shinobi? People will often overlook things like that if you prove your sincerity to them."

"I am sick and tired of hearing about all this pious, preachy crap about how I used to be such a 'nice' and 'caring' guy! Well that bit me in the ass, 'father!' I'm sure you probably have some speech saved up about how I have to continue your legacy and be Hokage too! Well fuck that! No matter what I ever did, they couldn't allow me to have any happiness! Why should I have to suffer and bleed everyday so that smug cowards like that can go on and enjoy their own worthless lives?! Why should I let people walk all over me and shit on my name?! I'm tired of the world trying to fuck me over. I decided it was time for me to fuck it back!"

Yondaime sighed, "Happiness is a choice, Naruto. You can't let yourself be consumed by hatred…how does that make you any different than Kyuubi? I know it was hard for you growing up…I couldn't be there to help you. I wish with all my heart that I could have been. My only son…forced to bear the curse of his clan. You were meant for so much more than this. You have this incredible power, a bloodline that only the legends speak of, and you are using it for you own selfish needs. You could have changed the world for the better…and been the greatest Hokage ever, but instead you chose to follow Kyuubi into damnation. Do you honestly think you can trust Kyuubi?"

"Don't talk about Kyuubi that way! Without him…" the jinchuuriki trailed off as he clenched his fists.

"You are his puppet, son! The fox does not even need to take over you in order to control you. Your mother told me all sorts of things about her experience as Kyuubi's container. I can't even imagine what you've been through son, but I beg you to please listen to me for one minute."

Naruto sighed, "Fine, I will hear you out, but don't expect me to do what you say."

Kyuubi decided to remain silent much to Naruto's surprise and simply watched.

"Kyuubi is like a poison, Naruto…everyone and everything this creature has ever come into contact with has ended up with nothing but misery and death. That fiend twisted her mind, Naruto. Kushina used to tell me crazy things. Her mental condition only seemed to worsen the longer she was holding Kyuubi at bay. Yet despite her hardships, Kushina conquered Kyuubi's hatred with love. You can conquer all of your inner demons with love. You just need to forgive Konoha and move on. Hatred is a self-destructive, double-edged sword."

Naruto glanced over at Kyuubi who had an amused expression on his face. It wasn't long before Kyuubi burst into uncontrollable laughter. Minato looked distraught, but remained silent.

"**Hahahaha, is that what she told you, fool?! Is that what Mito told you? You did not truly know either one of them. You probably didn't even know that Kushina is an Uchiha as well…and that her father was the very same man who used me to try and destroy all of you! The only real victim in all of this is me," **Kyuubi laughed.

Minato shook his head in disbelief, "Your lies won't affect me, fox. I know my wife and I trust her with all my heart. She would never lie about something like that!"

"**Kushina wasn't going crazy because of me. She was trying to live a life that she could never have. It drove her to hysteria knowing that she could never escape from her heritage. Did you also know that Mito selected her to be my container because she possessed her father's special chakra?" **Kyuubi added with a coy matter of fact voice. Minato simply shook his head at the demon before turning back to face his son.

There was a awkward silence between the two before Minato began to speak, "Your mother was a wonderful person Nar-" Minato started but was interrupted.

"You know…I used to dream of meeting you. When I was young, I would look at the Hokage Heads on the cliff and see your face. I didn't know that you were my father then, but I knew that I wanted to be just like you. It's ironic how much has changed for the better once I started doing things for myself for once," Naruto said distantly.

"Is this truly what you want, Naruto? Do you not want to be loved and respected by Konoha and your peers for achieving something great and helping the world? You have the power to do that! Sadly, you would instead prefer to take everything you want and crush anybody that gets in your way? That's not the kind of person I call a true Shinobi. That is unbefitting of a wielder of the legendary Rinnegan," the fourth hokage stated full of sorrow.

"Minato, your final words towards our son should not be so harsh…Naruto will find his own way in the world. All you can do now is help him to understand what truly happened to him," another voice spoke up.

"**Oh, I was wondering when princess would wake up…she was probably too busy defeating me with her 'love,'" **Kyuubi chuckled in amusement as Naruto's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"Is that…her?" Naruto asked.

The woman's long flowing red hair almost seemed to match the color of Kyuubi's chakra. Minato answered, "We sealed Kyuubi inside of you on the day of the attack, however we also sealed a part of ourselves so that you could one day see us again if the seal ever broke, which it did, unfortunately. I don't know how you ever got this entwined with his chakra, but by doing so, the seal could no longer restrain your power."

"Tell us Naruto, what was your first encounter with Kyuubi?" Kushina asked. Naruto continued staring at her in disbelief and didn't bother answering.

She waved her arm in front of him, "Naruto, how long has this been going on?"

"**Scolding him already are you?! Haha, Kushina, you're still as obnoxious and preachy as I remember," **Kyuubi scoffed at the woman. She sent the fox a fierce glare, "You're still as angry and pessimistic as I remember."

The fox's tails smashed against the walls causing everything to shake as he leapt up, **"Ah, don't get mad, princess otherwise you'll give into hatred and won't be able to defeat me with love. HAHAHA! You know what I find the most ironic is how you all brought this upon yourselves. You fools are terrible parents. Although I suppose that runs in the family eh, Kushina?"**

The woman's face literally lit up with rage as she clenched her fists. Kushina looked as if she was about to say something but bit her lip. She knew she couldn't win an argument with the fox, even after all of these years.

Minato sent her a small frown, "Kushina, is what Kyuubi said true? Why were you going crazy those last two years?"

She looked down shamefully, "Minato, it's complicated."

Kushina walked past him and started towards Naruto. Minato did the same and before long, the two were directly in front of their son. Kushina stared at Naruto's eyes for a long awkward moment and shook her head, "My father is a ruthless, evil man. When I first discovered from Mito that I was to be a jinchuuriki, she revealed my father's true identity and the secret behind my powers."

Minato glanced between her and Naruto and spoke up disbelievingly, "What? You mean Kyuubi was telling the truth? Madara Uchiha is your father?! Then that would mean…"

Much to everybody's surprise, Kushina's eyes turned red and a revealed a Sharingan. "Yes, Minato, I am an Uchiha as well as an Uzumaki. My father breed me for the sole purpose of creating the Rinnegan. He succeeded…"

The fourth Hokage looked at his son and back at Kushina, "So that is how Naruto awakened this bloodline?"

Kushina glanced over at him and shook her head, "I wasn't talking about him…"

Naruto felt as if his heart was about to explode as Kushina turned to face him again. Her eyes began to glow a radiant purple as nine tomoe outlined the edges of newly forming lines. Kyuubi shook his head at the sight, **"What a waste you turned out to be,"**

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. Kushina was standing before him with a fully awakened Rinnegan. Though hers appeared to possess attributes from the Sharingan as well. "I never wanted this power…I never wanted to live my life constantly fighting. I just wanted a family and a peaceful life to call my own. I just wanted my life to count for something more than this…"

The woman began to cry freely which caused Minato to hug her concerned, "Kushina, why didn't you ever tell me about this…we could have dealt with it together."

"I couldn't…I suppressed my power as much as I possibly could because I didn't want my father to find out. I didn't want to ruin all of our lives to fight him. In the end, I thought, it would be better to just die and let the Rinnegan fade away where it belonged. What a fool I was…because of my weakness and my fear, our son is now the one who suffers!" Kushina sobbed hysterically.

Minato looked completely empathetic and nodded his head in understanding, "You did what you thought was right."

"I'm sorry…" Naruto spoke up causing both of his parents to look at him in shock. Before Naruto could even comprehend the situation, he felt both of his parents embrace him in a hug. Minato pat him on the back and looked him directly in the eyes, "Never give into hatred and despair. Even if you never go back to Konoha, please use your powers for something good. No matter what else happens son, I'll always love you. I have to go now…"

Without another word Minato disappeared. Kushina continued to hug Naruto in a long embrace before finally speaking, "Your father means well, Naruto and he is right about a lot of things, but not in this. I understand how hard your life must have been and I will never judge any decision you have made. I love you, Naruto."

He stood there uncertain how to react to this display of affection from his parents. His own mother whom he had never seen until this moment just said the only thing he ever wished for as a child. Naruto almost felt as if he could cry from some deep painful feeling inside of him. What was this feeling he was experiencing? The man didn't like it. It was too painful.

Naruto looked away and shook his head, "I don't know what that is…"

Her tears continued to flow as a sad smile crossed her lips, "You will find it one day…just remember that no matter how dark the night gets, the sun will always rise."

"**How beautiful…" **Kyuubi cut in with a bored tone. Kushina sent a sad glance at the fox, "Please continue to take care of my son, Kurama."

Kyuubi's eyes lit up in shock from the woman's use of his actual name. Kushina's body began to glow as she turned back to face Naruto. "Goodbye for now, Naruto."

Without another word she vanished as well leaving Naruto and Kyuubi alone in his mindscape.

"She had the Sharingan and the Rinnegan?" Naruto asked aloud in disbelief.

"**Now you have your answers, Naruto…" **

The jinchuuriki's eyes went wide as he turned to face Kyuubi with a shocked expression, "What did you just say?!"

"**Nothing, kit…anyways, now that your seal is broken, our power is fully combined. I guess you and I are in this for the long haul."**

"Hmm, I guess so. So what's next on our to do list, Kurama? I never knew that you had a name." Naruto changed the subject. He was trying to ignore the emotions he was still feeling.

Kyuubi gave him a disapproving glare, "Names are pretty, but pointless…don't go around thinking we're pals now, kit."

"I wouldn't dare to dream of such a thing," he laughed causing the fox to chuckle in amusement.

"**Take care of Yagura first, and then later we'll talk about the Sharingan's relation to the Rinnegan," **

Before Naruto could even nod his head in acknowledgement, he found himself returning to consciousness. He awoke to find himself lying on the floor beside Yagura's bed. He quickly gained his composure and stood up just in time to catch a blonde haired girl darting away from the door and down the hallway.

Naruto quickly realized that his entire body was glowing blood red from Kyuubi's chakra. _'So what does it mean now that the seal is broken?'_

"**It's not fully unsealed, but completely open now. Our chakra has combined. You can now transform into my physical self should you ever desire to hahaha!"**

Naruto thought about it for a moment, _'This is definitely going to change things a little bit.'_

"**Bring Yagura outside, and summon the Statue. We need to take care of this bitch now." **

'_I don't know, Kyuubi. I mean should I kill him?' _Naruto asked curiously. **"Yeah, why not? Didn't one of your slaves say something about wanting revenge anyways? So you can go ahead and deal with two problems at once."**

Naruto nodded his head, _'Well I doubt I could ever trust him…and as long as he's the Mizukage still, there's no way I can let him go. I guess that just makes the most sense.'_

Without giving it another thought, he picked the Mizukage up and began to carry him outside. As he made his way through the building, a concerned looking Mei showed up. Naruto's chakra cloak caught her attention right away.

"Where have you been, Pein? What are you doing with Yagura?" she interrogated as the two walked past countless jounin towards the exit of the building. Naruto did not bother responding as he exited.

Mei sighed in annoyance but decided to remain silent as she followed behind Naruto. As the man made his way outside, he dropped Yagura's body in the middle of the open plaza. This caught the attention of many passing people who stopped to watch. His blood red chakra cloak attracted a large crowd of curious villagers. Naruto closed his eyes and began to channel even more chakra as he stood over the other jinchuuriki.

News apparently traveled fast because before long, half of Naruto's companions rushed out to see what was happening. "Lord Pein, what are you doing?" Guren asked urgently as she rushed behind him followed by Anko, Tayuya, Zabuza, Haku, and Kimimaro.

"I've decided what to do with him," The Rinnegan wielder spoke as he turned back and looked over his companions. It wasn't long before Zabuza, Haku, Kimimaro and Guren began to glow in Kyuubi's chakra as well. "Stand back," Naruto ordered sternly as the cloak began to glow more intensely around his hands. Without another word, Naruto flashed through a long series of hand seals, "Kuchiyose: Gedo Mazo!" (Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path).

Everybody began to freak out as a massive statue rose out of the ground. It only came up halfway, but it was enough for the arms and head to clear the ground. Naruto held one of his arms out towards Yagura and the other one towards the statue. He unleashed a colossal surge of chakra in both directions causing the statue's mouth to open wide.

As the statue began to glow intensely from the blood red chakra, Naruto turned to face Yagura and picked the Mizukage up by the throat. His Rinnegan flashed red with slits as his chakra continued to intensify. Mei looked concerned as Naruto's grip tightened over Yagura's throat. "WAKE UP, YAGURA!"

Almost half the village was gathered to see this scene. Just then, Sasuke, Fu, and a horrified looking Yugito showed up. Yagura's eyes shot open much to everybody's surprise. The Mizukage looked around worried as he tried to piece together what was happening.

The moment he noticed Naruto death gripping his throat he began to panic and flail. Unfortunately for him, Naruto's grip only tightened more from the motion. "Hello, Yagura…my name is Pein!" Naruto said as intimidating as possible.

As the man began to choke, Naruto released his grip causing him to drop to the ground and gasp for air. "So we finally meet," Yagura gasped between breaths before regaining his composure. He looked around and noticed all of the Oto nin and shook his head, "It figures you would take over the smaller villages…so you really do have the Rinnegan? Though I don't understand why is it red?"

"Shut up, fool. I've only kept you alive this long because I didn't know what to do about your bijou until now. Since you are beyond the point of redemption, I have no choice but to remove you from this game," Naruto stated cold and methodically.

Zabuza drew his sword and was practically beaming with approval upon seeing his leader's old bloodlust emerge, "I've been waiting for this day for a long time, Yagura…the betrayal, the lies, the self-pity! It all ends today!" The swordsman's grip tightened over his sword.

Naruto glanced over at the swordsman in approval. Zabuza raised his blade over his head and waited for Naruto to give him the signal. Yagura looked around desperately unsure of what to do. When his eyes met Mei's he shook his head in disdain.

"Do you know why you have to die?" Naruto asked with a stern tone. The man sighed heavily as he nodded, "Yes."

"You sent assassins after me for three and a half years, you ruined the lives of four of my followers, and you were part of the joint task force that wiped out Uzushiogakure," Naruto stated intensely.

"Any last words before we send you to hell?!" Zabuza demanded furiously as if he was hoping to get something more out of Yagura. The jinchuuriki turned towards Naruto and a small smile crossed his lips, "I'll save you a spot, Pein…"

Mei looked away painfully trying to cope with the situation as Haku nodded her head in approval. Many of the surrounding villagers were still in awe over the Gedo Mazo. "DIE!" Zabuza shouted with all his might as he brought the blade down and stabbed through Yagura's chest and impaled him on the ground.

Blood began to pool everywhere as the life slowly faded away from the Mizukage. Naruto found it bizarre that the man almost looked happy that he was dying. Just then, much to everybody's awe, the Gedo Mazo began to suck out all of Sanbi's chakra from him.

Due to Kyuubi's chakra amplifying it, the process did not take long until Sanbi was fully sealed into the statue. Content with his handiwork, Naruto dismissed the statue causing it to sink back underground and the earth to reform around the plaza.

Naruto didn't bother explaining anything to his bewildered, confused followers as he walked past Zabuza and pat him on the shoulder. The swordsman nodded respectfully and pulled his bloodied sword up from the now dead Mizukage.

Naruto walked towards Fu and Yugito and motioned for both of them to follow him. Fu readily did as commanded, but Yugito hesitated as the man came closer. She fearfully stood there trying to get over the scene she had just witnessed. She was completely terrified now. THAT was the Pein that she knew. When Yugito refused to move, Naruto picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She was too terrified to do anything and fearfully remained quiet as the three of them headed into Naruto's office.

Naruto placed Yugito down and pushed her into a chair before motioning for Fu to do the same. Both eyed him anxiously wondering what he wanted with them. "You two saw what I just did right?" Naruto asked.

Fu nodded her head, "Yeah…you killed another jinchuuriki."

The green haired girl seemed a bit upset about it, but kept her cool nonetheless. "Yagura had no intention of helping us…but there's another reason I sealed Sanbi away. You two remember Madara from the Valley of the End right?"

Both Fu and Yugito traded glances before nodding silently. "I know why he is after jinchuuriki…he wants to harvest us and recreate the ten tails."

Fu's eyes shot open in disbelief while Yugito simply shook her head hopelessly. "I just want you two to know that I would never do anything like that to either one of you…please don't misunderstand what I had to do today."

"I am scared, Naruto…you seemed like a different person out there. Do you want to talk? Is there anything I can do?" Fu pleaded much to Naruto's surprise. She seemed genuinely shaken up over the ordeal.

Yugito looked over at Naruto and back to Fu, "Can I talk to you in private, Naruto…"

Fu raised a brow with a disbelieving look, "You want me to leave?"

She looked over towards Naruto awaiting his input. The Rinnegan wielder nodded, "I would love to sit down and talk, Fu. I promise you that we will later."

Yugito nodded her head in approval and made a buzz off gesture much to Fu's annoyance. Fu ran over and hugged Naruto much to his surprise and whispered to him, "I love you…"

He awkwardly stood there unsure of how to respond. She continued to cling to him for an awkwardly long minute before they met eye contact. "Say it, Naruto…" she commanded.

"I…" the man began causing Fu's eyes to light up with anticipation, "love you too, Fu." Naruto felt that awkward feeling in his stomach again upon seeing the look on the girl's face. Though he was happy to see her cheerful mood return. Without another word, Fu left the office leaving Naruto and Yugito alone.

The blonde woman was still terrified from what she just witnessed earlier, but knew that she was going to have to ask him sooner or later.

"So, Yugito, what did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked concerned. He quickly noticed her trembling hands and felt almost guilty for it.

The woman found her courage and started, "What do you intend to do with me? My circumstance wasn't all that different from the Mizukage's."

"Why? What do you think I'm going to do to you?" Naruto countered causing Yugito to become slightly more distressed. She sent him fearful glance, "Probably rape and kill me…and then take the two tails away."

Naruto gave her a quizzical stare, "You honestly think I would do that?"

"Yes! You clearly have no morals or sense of remorse, and I have heard these wicked women that follow you refer to themselves as your harem on more than one occasion! What am I to you except another pair of tits?"

The man shrugged, "Look, I never asked for all of them to show up. It just sort of happened. I don't know what kind of person you or anybody else thinks I am, but to be quite honest I don't really care anymore. I spent too many years of my childhood trying to please everybody and follow the idealistic will of fire. You know where it got me? Nowhere. Also, for the record, you clearly don't understand what each of them means to me. They are my friends…but they are more than that."

"So…what are you going to do to me then?" She asked again. Naruto shrugged, "I don't know, what do you want me to do?"

"Let me go…" she suggested quietly.

There was a long awkward silence before she changed the subject, "Tell me about your childhood…I want to know more about you."

"Hmph…well I guess if it will make you feel better, then I will. I was born in Konoha as you probably already know. I grew up alone without my parents…" the mention of his parents caused Naruto to feel that painful feeling again.

Yugito seemed to relax a little bit as she examined Naruto's expression, _'He seems so sad…' _

Naruto quickly pushed his feelings aside as he continued, "I remember as a kid I used to live by myself in this crappy apartment. The Sandaime Hokage paid for my living expenses there…he talked me into joining the ninja academy when I was really young."

The blonde woman seemed saddened by the look on Naruto's face, "You cared a lot about him…didn't you?"

"When I was younger, things just seemed so much simpler. The Hokages seemed like they could do no wrong…everybody loved them and respected them. As a jinchuuriki, I've always been an outcast…but even worse, I was kind of a lousy student as well. Nobody respected me…so one day when I was sitting on the Hokage heads, I decided that the only way I was ever going to be liked in the village would be to become Hokage myself. I made that my goal…" Naruto explained distantly.

"What happened that made you leave your village?" Yugito asked genuinely interested.

Naruto sighed, "I just got fed up with it…no matter how much I did or how hard I tried, things always just seemed to go wrong. I tried to be nice and helpful…but people ended up taking advantage of that. My bijou, Kyuubi, convinced me to leave though. He did not want Konoha to find out that I had the Rinnegan. I spent years on the run after that…honing my skills, and dodging hunter nin. Eventually I decided to go after Orochimaru since I needed a goal for myself. Though, that's another story."

Yugito looked down and shook her head, "Being a jinchuuriki is so damn miserable…I don't know how my uncle does it. He just doesn't let anything bother him. I'm the Raikage's daughter though…people treated me different just because of that alone, not even counting the fact that I am Nibi's jinchuuriki. I had no friends…all I did was train. The worst thing about it all though was the stares…"

"I still remember the way people would stare at me as a kid. My birthday also happened to be on the anniversary of Kyuubi's attack on Konoha. I couldn't show my face in public on my own birthday or they would form a mob. Although, I didn't even know I was a jinchuuriki until I was about twelve or thirteen," Naruto replied.

The blonde woman's eyes lit up in disbelief, "You didn't know? I can't even imagine people hating me and not being able to understand why…" Yugito seemed shocked by this revelation.

"Yeah, but in all my naïve ignorance…I could never see that no matter what I did, the people there would never fully accept me as one of them. That place was not my home," he stated.

"I can see why you left…to be able to live somewhere new and be somebody else. I wish I could have done that, but I could never turn against my village. I couldn't do that to my family," she responded sadly.

Naruto sighed as he leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head, "Well, I don't know what to do with you, Yugito. I promised you that I was not going to hurt you like I did with Yagura, but that leaves me with little choice but to keep you hostage. As long as Madara is out there, I can't let you out of my custody."

"I don't feel any safer with you than I would be if I was out on my own," she shot back.

"Listen, Yugito…this doesn't have to be anything you don't want it to be. I promise I won't lay a hand on you. I mean am I really that bad to you?" Naruto asked.

She shook her head, "Not really…I guess I'm kind of used to you by now." Naruto smiled at her comment and stood up to walk around his desk. He sat down on the desk right in front of her chair causing her to back away nervously.

"I'll let you go home once I deal with, Madara…I could never forgive myself if I let him hurt you. Whether you like it or not, I'm going to protect you," he replied sincerely.

Yugito blushed from his comment and looked away flustered, "Don't say foolish things like that."

"Why not?" he asked as he crossed his arms, "you think I would let a beautiful woman like you get hurt?"

The woman stood up flustered and annoyed, "Shut up! I know what you're trying to do! You think I'm that easy?!"

Naruto shook his head in amusement, "Wow, you really have a perverted mind, Yugito."

She growled at him, "Stop playing games with me already!"

This caused him to raise a brow surprised and Yugito to cover her face in complete embarrassment. She quickly ran for the door to get away from him.

As she reached the handle Naruto asked, "Just out of curiosity, have you been following me around?"

She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around horrified, "W-w-what?!"

"You're delusional!" she shouted.

Naruto nodded his head, "Yes, I am."

Yugito seemed more annoyed, "Don't agree with me! Just stop it okay!?"

Much to her surprise, Naruto got up and started walking towards her. She backed away until she was at the door. Yugito's face lit up in a rosy blush as Naruto's face got really close to her own. She could feel his hot breath and could almost taste it. The two stood there for a long awkward moment.

Yugito closed her eyes, _'Please kiss me. Please kiss me. Please kiss me.' _she kept repeating in her head.

"I promised I wouldn't touch you…" he whispered quietly before reaching past her and opening the door. Yugito stood there completely red-faced unsure of what to do.

"Take care, Yugito," Naruto said as he walked out of the office leaving her standing at the doorway.

Yugito felt like her emotions were betraying her right now. She could not believe that she actually fell for the same trap that every other girl in Naruto's company did.

'_Stop it, Yugito! You are not allowed to like him! He is Pein, the notorious criminal! Why am I getting all flustered over this anyways? I don't like him, I don't like him! He must be using some kind of genjutsu on me to make me act this way.'_

"**Yeah, because a genjutsu made you stay up and get yourself off to him having sex in the next room all night," **Nibi chimed in.

'_W-what?! I didn't do that! It's just…' _Yugito couldn't finish her thought before Nibi started laughing.

"**What about the time you peeped on him and ice girl at the sauna? Oh, and let's not forget how badly you wanted him to kiss you just now."**

Yugito huffed, _'Okay okay I get it already! So I like him…but I sure as hell shouldn't. Father would never allow that…and I sure as hell have no desire to be just some other whore for him to fuck.'_

"**You know, I don't really see the problem with that. When was the last time you got laid, anyways kitten?"**

'_Shut up, Nibi!' _Yugito shouted in frustration.

"**Just think about it…what could your father do to him anyways?" **

'_It's just not right! What kind of person would I be if I abandoned my village on some impulsive desire to be his groupie?!' _she countered.

Nibi yawned, **"Whatever, kitten, just go ahead and pass up a good opportunity."**

Deep in her own thoughts, Yugito didn't notice a green haired girl sneak up on her. "Hey, Yugito!" Fu shouted. This instantly caught her by surprise causing the blonde to spin around.

Before Yugito could even comprehend the situation, she found Fu on top of her holding her arms down.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded.

Fu didn't bother answering as she planted her lips against the blonde's. Yugito struggled at first, but it wasn't long before she started enjoying the kiss. Fu aggressively rolled her tongue around causing Yugito to moan.

After breaking the kiss, Fu got off of her and giggled, "That was just a taste of what you're missing…do you know where my lips have been?"

"What is that supposed to me-" Yugito stopped mid sentence and blushed furiously before looking away. Fu laughed before prancing down the hallway.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Madara was calmly relaxing in a village hut which he tactically acquired from some unfortunate person. The Uchiha casually cooked his soup waiting on the blonde girl lying on the ground to wake up. Much to his long awaited anticipation, Ino stirred from her sleep and opened her eyes.

She looked around passively as if she didn't fully comprehend her surroundings until she made eye contact with Madara who sent her a smile, "Ah, I see you're finally awake."

Ino's memories instantly came rushing back to her as she jumped up worried, "Who are you?! Where am I?! Last thing I remember was Suna and…"

"You were quite the brave little bitch to invade my mind…" Madara noted with almost a hint of admiration. Ino gave him a shocked look, "T-that was you?! W-where are we?!" The blonde took a quick moment to examine Madara's appearance. She seemed shocked by how serene and radiant his face was.

He shrugged, "I don't really know…I seem to have forgotten. Maybe you can invade my mind and find out."

Ino looked extremely worried, "Why didn't you just kill me?"

"Here's what's going to happen…I have a little job for you to do girl. Do it right, and maybe I'll spare your life," the Uchiha said in a mocking, condescending tone.

The blonde girl bit her lip unsure of how to respond, "What do you want me to do, exactly?"

A sickening smile crossed Madara's lips, "Look into my eyes."

Ino finally recognized his Sharingan and gasped, "A-are you an Uchiha?!"

Before she could even get her answer, Ino's senses blacked out.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A considerable distance away from Ame, a savagely devastated battlefield was littered with puppets and sand. In the middle of this, Gaara stood triumphantly over a the dead puppet body of Sasori. He could see explosions and columns of water rising in the distance.

'_I need to get out of here before the others show up,' _He thought desperately as he began to take off at high speed towards Konoha. As he made his escape, a calm Itachi stood there and watched. The Uchiha had Killer Bee's unconscious body slung over his back.

The Uchiha thought for a moment about what to do. After going over it in his head he made a rash decision. Itachi chased after Gaara and cut the Kazekage off much to his disbelief. Gaara looked slightly worried as he stopped but kept a straight face.

"Take him with you," Itachi said quietly as he walked closer towards Gaara and threw Killer Bee on the ground. The redhead had a visibly shocked expression, "Why?"

Itachi looked behind Gaara and sighed, "You don't have that much time left…"

Gaara couldn't believe what was happening. Without another word, Itachi vanished. Seeing as he had no other choice, Gaara picked Killer Bee up and continued onward with his escape.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

YAY! Hell yeah, another chapter already?! It's like I'm a real author who updates…well not really.

So without further ado, let us enjoy the chapter review! (I did not mean to rhyme that)

So we had a lot of shit happening this chapter with Naruto. Who would have thought that Kushina had a Sharinnegan (or whatever the hell you call it) all along? I hope you guys enjoyed the scene with his parents. I wanted it to be somewhat emotional, but not too unrealistic and sappy. Hopefully I got it right…but there's just no way for me to know for sure.

Naruto and Kyuubi seem to be developing a much stronger bond than before. They're even on a name basis?! Shit is getting real there! Especially now since the seal is broken, Naruto has full access to Kyuubi mode transformation! AH YEAH!

Yagura got killed, finally. I know some people might be disappointed/etc. but it's very important.

What's going on with Yugito now? How will she deal with her emerging feelings for the Rinnegan man-whore? Only time will tell. Well time and a lot of coffee. (It took a lot of coffee to make me update this fast.)

Of course who would have expected Itachi to do something like that?! Things are beginning to stir up again. Madara is not going to be happy when he gets back. I wonder what he'll do with Ino?! I wonder what he'll do with the remaining jinchuuriki when he gets back?! I wonder if this chapter review hype does anything...

Well thanks for reading loyal, beloved readers! Stay tuned until next time! *Cue outro song*


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Bonds**

Naruto sat silently on the top of the tower overlooking Oto. The man sighed as he remembered the events from earlier that day. Gossip was spreading like wildfire among the village and many of his companions were distraught from what had occurred.

He let his mind wander trying not to focus on anything in particular. Right now Naruto was more than a little stressed out. He had so many things to do and a small army of followers to keep in line. Of course his "harem" as Kyuubi and many of the girls had come to call it was another headache.

He appreciated the acceptance of his women, but found it tiring to deal with them while trying to come up with a new plan. Lately, a feeling of anxiousness gnawed at him. There was no doubt that he was powerful and influential, but for some reason Naruto just felt disconnected from everything.

Ever since his talk with Minato and Kushina, Naruto had been feeling a lot of his repressed emotions rising to the surface. He did his best to ignore them and focus on the present, but deep down he wished that he would have said something more to his parents.

What kind of a person was he exactly? Naruto could not answer that question because he honestly did not know. Minato's disapproval towards his current status was a major blow to his pride. Naruto had never felt like he was wrong for his life choices, but it greatly angered him that his father did not understand them.

The man had a hard time understanding why he cared so much about what his father thought of him. Naruto felt justified in his actions, but something about his father's hopeless optimism almost made Naruto doubt himself. What if Minato was right about him being selfish? At first, his life as Pein was just about getting away and getting stronger, but now it seemed like so much more. Naruto was a SS class criminal and killed anybody that got in his way. What did he mean about hatred and despair as well? Naruto wasn't angry or depressed…he simply felt the need to carry out judgment against those who deserved it.

'_How can he think I am being selfish?! He's dead! He doesn't see the world I live in and the challenges I've faced! Yondaime never saw the way they treated me…he never saw the village after he died. He's clinging to a memory of what Konoha used to be, and not what it is anymore. How could he possibly condemn me as the bad guy?! I'm your fucking son! How can you abandon me to that festering hell and then have the nerve to question my life?! DAMN YOU FATHER!' _Naruto ranted internally in the midst of his self-reflection.

Kyuubi was quick to pick up on his bad mood and sighed, **"What are you so pissed off about?"**

Naruto took a moment to calm himself down and sighed, _'How can my parents both be so stupid?'_

"**Hmph, I've been asking myself that question for a long time. Don't listen to what they said, kit. Yondaime was always a clever fool. No matter how smart one might be, people always see what they want to see. As for Kushina…she was simply wasted potential. Her failure to accept responsibility for her bloodline brought this entire mess straight to you. If you think about it really, they are the ones being selfish," **Kyuubi answered.

'_What makes you say that?' _Naruto asked thoughtfully.

"**Yondaime refused to give up his beliefs and face the bitter reality that his Will of Fire is all bullshit. He forced you to become a jinchuuriki in order to 'save' his village. As for Kushina, she refused to follow the path of the sage of six paths out of a petty desire to live a 'normal life.'" ** Kyuubi explained callously.

'_Speaking of my mother…I actually have a few things I wanted to know about her. First of all, if my mother had a fully awakened Rinnegan this entire time, how did nobody ever know?'_

Kyuubi growled, **"She practiced some sort of chakra repression and used many kinds of seals to prevent the bloodline from showing. Kushina, was obsessed about nobody ever finding out. In fact, nobody even knew she was a jinchuuriki except for several members of your clan and some of the Konoha leadership."**

'_If her seal had you completely restrained, then how did she know your name?' _Naruto asked curiously.

Kyuubi was quiet for a moment, **"I told her a long time ago…when she first acquired the Rinnegan. I was excited. It brought back too many old memories of the Rinnegan's origins. The Sage of Six Paths was a very important person to all bijou. For a lack of a better term, we cared about the Sage. However, we also hated him…it is difficult to explain to someone that is not a bijou. My experience with understanding mortals was very poor back then. I was rather naïve with Kushina, and told her too much of the truth before she had time to free her mind from the shackles of your little society. She rejected me and did everything in her power to ignore her responsibility. If I had taken my time and properly molded her mind for the transition, then maybe she would still be alive today."**

'_It must have been difficult though. If you had told me all that I know now back then when I was still in Konoha…there's no telling where I'd be right now. I mean, I can see why things like that might have scared her,' _Naruto defended his mother.

"**You seem awfully empathetic towards her. Though at least she was aware of her own failures. Well for the record, that is why I always kept you on a need to know basis. Although, now that you have fully accepted our destiny, there will be no more secrets between us."**

'_What should I do about the Sharingan, Kyuubi?_' Naruto asked.

"**I would strongly recommend you start by speaking to that Uchiha whelp that came all this way to find us," **Kyuubi suggested.

Naruto shook his head, _'What point would that achieve? What could he tell me that you could not?'_

"**I just have a feeling that it would be in your best interest to talk to an Uchiha about it personally. I don't really know much about the Sharingan other than what I've seen." **Kyuubi responded casually.

'_How did my mother awaken hers?' _Naruto asked anxiously.

Kyuubi groaned in frustration, **"That stupid girl awakened her Sharingan before the Rinnegan, so I don't really know for sure. I didn't really start paying attention until the Rinnegan manifested. She developed her Rinnegan around the time she got kidnapped by Kumo, but I think that her Sharingan most likely had already manifested before she became my container. Mito probably helped her I think…though she had me sealed away completely most of the time, so there is no telling what really happened. At this point, I believe that Uchiha kid might give you a better understanding of the Sharingan."**

As if summoned by the gods themselves, Sasuke, came up the stairs and made his way towards the jinchuuriki.

"Naruto, can we talk? I haven't had a chance to speak to you in private ever since you arrived here," a voice sounded from behind. The jinchuuriki turned back and saw Sasuke standing behind him with a serious look on his face. He nodded his head and motioned for the Uchiha to sit beside him. There was a long awkward silence as the two stared into the distance.

"**Haha, talk about convenient timing," **Kyuubi laughed.

"I know it must have been hard for you to accept me here…" Sasuke started trying to break the ice, "but I am glad you did. All of this doesn't even seem real to me yet."

Naruto glanced at him and sighed, "Listen, Sasuke, the only reason I accepted you here is because my companions trusted you. Kimimaro, Tayuya, and Guren seem to like you. However, don't think that means that everything is immediately okay between us."

"You said it was good to have me back. You even referred to us as old friends," Sasuke responded distantly.

"We are old friends…I was impressed that you actually came this far to find me. Though, I must admit I was really skeptical at first. I still am to some degree," Naruto responded.

Sasuke shook his head, "I have no intention of betraying you or doing anything like that. You've become way more powerful than I could have ever imagined. I will follow you wherever you go; however, I still cannot forget my clan and Itachi. Once he is dead, the fate of the Uchiha Clan lies with me."

"There's something I want to tell you, Sasuke…you're not the last Uchiha." Naruto stated bluntly.

The raven haired man gave him a disbelieving stare, "What? Explain to me what you mean by that."

Naruto sighed, "I'm an Uchiha too…well technically my mother was an Uchiha and an Uzumaki. That is apparently how I got the Rinnegan."

Sasuke's eyes went wide with shock, "Hmm, that explains your Rinnegan then since the Uzumaki Clan is related to the Senju Clan, and both of them are descendant from the Sage of Six Paths alongside the Uchiha Clan."

"You studied that book well…" Naruto stated as he glanced back at the scenery.

Sasuke paused for a moment, "Although, if you were an Uchiha all along, how come you never had a Sharingan?"

"I don't know…but it must have something to do with why my Rinnegan didn't manifest until I unleashed a certain amount of power at the Valley of the End." Naruto noted.

The raven haired Uchiha nodded his head, "Yes, that would make sense. The Sharingan only manifests under stress and when a certain amount of power is achieved by the individual."

There was another long pause as the Uchiha stared at Naruto in disbelief. How could Naruto have been part Uchiha all this time with nobody knowing about it.

"If you are part Uchiha then that makes us kin," Sasuke stated as he drifted into deep thought. The raven haired man had a clear look of anxiousness on his face as if he wanted to say something else.

Naruto gave him an intense stare, "What is it, Sasuke? Say what you want to say."

"It's just…don't you even care about stopping Itachi? He wiped out the entire clan. If you and I are all that's left, then we should be bound by our honor to avenge them," Sasuke replied calmly.

"I have far bigger concerns to deal with than Itachi right now. The leader of Akatsuki is also an Uchiha, and he just so happens to be my mother's father," Naruto replied.

Sasuke raised a brow in disbelief, "Who the hell is he?! Is he stronger than Itachi?!"

Naruto nodded his head, "He's the one who taught Itachi apparently. They both seem to have similar Sharingans."

"That's the Mangekyo Sharingan…Naruto, who is this other Uchiha?" Sasuke asked concerned.

"Madara, the founder of the clan," Naruto answered.

Sasuke shook his head, "That's impossible, wouldn't he be like a hundred years old by now?"

"Apparently he is immortal…to be honest Sasuke, your brother seemed to fear him last time I saw them. He's not a high priority right now," Naruto noted.

"You saw Itachi recently?! Where?!" Sasuke demanded. A sharp glare from Naruto instantly made him back down. The Uchiha instantly regretted his outburst and bowed his head quickly.

"Watch your tone, Sasuke…I had a battle with Akatsuki in the Valley of the End a few weeks ago. I fought most of them off and got away with Deidara and some of the others. Your brother was there as well as the rest of Akatsuki. Konan brought me there to join them, but I refused because I am not stupid," Naruto explained.

Sasuke crossed his arms, "They wanted you to join them?"

"Yeah, Madara wanted Kyuubi and the Rinnegan from me. I had no intention of becoming a pawn in his game," he stated angrily as he began to recall the events that led up to the Valley of the End.

"I thought you killed Konan back in Ame? How did you two end up together?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Well she actually almost killed me believe it or not. I was being reckless and stupid and saved her life. We woke up in chains in Taki. That's where we met Fu as well," he continued.

The Uchiha nodded in understanding, "I see, so I have a question about what you did earlier to the Mizukage. Did you absorb his bijou?"

Naruto nodded his head, "Yes, I did. Don't concern yourself with that matter though…I only did it as a last resort. Yagura was a lost cause…I'm just glad that he didn't wake up until I decided to seal him."

"I see…so what's your plan now? What are you going to do about Akatsuki?" he asked curiously.

"We'll deal with them in due time, but first I want you to tell me more about the Mangekyo Sharingan," Naruto requested intensely.

Sasuke sighed, "Itachi told me long ago…he said that I would have to experience the death of my closest friend for it to activate. He killed his best friend Shisui to get his."

"Show me your Sharingan, Sasuke," Naruto commanded.

Sasuke looked bewildered by the order but activated it nonetheless. He motioned for the Uchiha to stand up. The two stood across from each other for a long awkward moment before Naruto spoke again, "Your real Sharingan…"

The Uchiha looked a bit surprised by his request, "What do you mean by that?"

"If you were truly my friend, and you thought I was dead, then you would have it wouldn't you? Prove it to me, Sasuke," Naruto said darkly.

"I never really thought you were dead…" Sasuke trailed off.

Naruto laughed at him, "Do you think I'm stupid, Sasuke? If I recall, you said you went through some sort of metamorphosis. Don't try keeping any secrets from me."

Sasuke stood there silently for a moment before a small smile crossed his lips, "You're really smarter than everybody gave you credit for." Without another word, Sasuke activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"I was saving this for Itachi…they strain your vision and if you overuse them you can go blind," Sasuke stated.

The jinchuuriki examined them with a fair amount of interest, "How long have you had them?"

"I don't know…somewhere around a year or two after you left it just sort of happened. I think I was going through a rough time emotionally. I spent all of my time training and trying to forget things that happened," the Uchiha answered.

Just then, Naruto heard a loud commotion down below. He glanced at Sasuke, "We'll continue this conversation later."

Without another word, Naruto leapt from the tower and landed down in the plaza. His eyes almost went wide with disbelief when he saw Konan and Shizune standing there. Much to his approval, most of his followers had the two surrounded.

Zabuza, Mei, Haku, Guren, Deidara, Fu, and Kimimaro were all standing there with weapons raised and in fighting stances. Konan was looking down at the ground and Shizune was surveying the surroundings nervously.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?!" Fu demanded furiously as two spikes came out of her forearms.

Konan continued to stare at the ground. Shizune held her hands up, "We're not here as enemies, let me explain!"

"Explain what? Who the hell are you people?" Mei asked casually.

Zabuza traded an annoyed glance with Haku, "So Konan is here? Somebody needs to tell, Pein!"

Shizune looked rather shocked to see Naruto's Paths with Rinnegan eyes. She looked around bewildered, "How do four of you have the Rinnegan as well?!"

Much to Shizune's relief, Naruto's voice sounded, "They are my Paths. Why are you two in my village?"

Everybody turned to see Naruto stroll up with an unpleased look on his face. Trailing slightly behind him was Sasuke.

Upon hearing Naruto's voice, Konan looked up finally. The look in his eyes made her heart stop momentarily. It was a look of anger mixed with anxiousness.

"N-Na…Pein," was all she could say before breaking eye contact. Fu walked up next to Naruto and grabbed his arm before glaring at the two women in front of her, "Lord Pein just asked you a question."

"**The green haired girl seems rather upset hahaha," **Kyuubi laughed

Naruto ignored Konan for a moment and glanced at Shizune, "Shizune-neechan…what the fuck do you want? You came a long way just to die."

"W-wait, Pein, please listen for a minute! Konan and I betrayed Madara and we're here to beg your forgiveness," Shizune pleaded desperately.

Fu looked unconvinced as she ran over and punched Shizune in the face sending the medic nin to the ground, "Shut up!"

Much to everybody's disbelief, Fu then turned towards Konan and tackled the girl to the ground. Konan didn't resist as Fu began to punch her repeatedly, "FUCK YOU TRAITOR!"

It wasn't long before Fu's chakra cloak activated. Konan's mouth started to bleed as Fu pounded away. She formed a long spike out of her forearm again and held her arm above Konan's throat, "DIE!"

Just then the azure haired Kunoichi dispersed into paper and reformed in front of Naruto causing Fu to miss her attack.

"Answer the question, Konan…why did you come here?" Naruto demanded angrily. Konan spit blood on the ground and wiped her mouth.

As she made eye contact again, Konan sighed, "Please, just hear me out okay? Can we talk somewhere?"

Upon hearing that request, Fu nearly went berserk as she charged Konan again. Much to her disbelief, several bones shot out of the ground and stopped her before Kimimaro and Haku held her back. She looked at both of them, "Let me go! She has no right to be here!"

"Let Pein settle this, Fu…" Mei cut in with an calm tone. The green haired girl shook her head and roared, "NOOO!"

"Fu, stand down!" Naruto commanded in his intimidating voice. The jinchuuriki finally stopped struggling and stood there pouting bitterly with a death glare focused on Konan.

Konan looked over at the green haired girl and sighed, "I'm sorry…"

Fu sent her a look of disgust, "Fuck off!"

Shizune finally regained her composure and stood back up, "Pein, I have something you need to know. I was a double agent between Konoha and Madara for all of these years, but I had no choice. He found me around the time he helped Itachi wipe out the Uchiha Clan. I've been his prisoner ever since."

The mention of Itachi caused Sasuke's eyes to widen. He wanted to ask her more, but decided against it upon seeing the look on Naruto's face.

Naruto seemed a bit surprised by this but shook his head, "Sounds like a convenient excuse to me. You seemed awfully sadistic the last time I saw you…Shizune-neechan. I think you enjoy fucking people over."

"She's been pretending this entire time, Nar-Pein…" Konan cut in. Her almost saying his name in public caused Naruto to sigh in annoyance.

The jinchuuriki raised his brow at Shizune, "Is that true? Prove it to me!"

"Konan betrayed Madara in Ame. We captured the four and five tails as well as the Kazekage, who is the one tails. I freed Konan and let them all go. Please just give me a chance. Had I known you could stand up to Madara, I would have sided with you back at the Valley of the End," Shizune said quickly.

The Rinnegan wielder gave her an odd stare, "If what you say is true, then where was Madara during all of this?"

"He went to get the six tails. Konan, says she knows what he intends to do with the jinchuuriki! We came here to warn you and to help if we can," she continued.

Fu huffed in disbelief, "We've already seen what her 'help' is like…"

Naruto honestly did not know what to do. He was annoyed by the fact that Konan kept looking away and refused to say anything. He took a few steps closer towards the women causing Shizune to gulp in fear.

"Shizune come here…" Naruto commanded coldly. She nervously walked closer.

"Closer," He ordered with a more serious tone.

She did as commanded until she was right in front of him. Before she could even see his arm move, Shizune found herself being held off the ground by her throat. She gripped Naruto's arm and flailed around trying to breathe.

"SO what you're saying is you are a coward?!" Naruto shouted at her. She gasped for air trying to stay conscious.

Everyone of Naruto's companions remained silent watching the scene anxiously. Konan was watching worriedly fearing what was coming next.

"Lord Pein, if you would allow it, may I say something?" Deidara chimed in causing Naruto's grip to loosen. He dropped Shizune to the ground who fell over and began breathing heavily.

Naruto gave Deidara a silent nod awaiting his input. The blonde man brushed a hand through his hair and began, "I can vouch for these two…not all of us joined Akatsuki willingly. Madara is a very controlling person unnn, and if what they said is true, then they would have no reason to betray you. I mean it's not like Madara would willingly set up some kind of trap like this after spending years tracking Jinchuuriki."

Fu shot Deidara a disbelieving glare, "Not you too. I find it awfully convenient how this former Akatsuki member is defending these traitors to you, Pein."

"Hey now, don't get all bent out of shape. I was merely trying to say that if they had any kind of malcontent against Tobi, like I did, then I can definitely see why they are here. Plus, Konan was holding back the entire time at the Valley of the End…I mean she really wanted you to join us. Personally, I'm glad you said no, because I don't like the idea of serving that Uchiha mother fucker hmmm," Deidara replied coyly.

Sasuke shot him a cold glare for his comment but remained silent. Guren glanced over at Naruto and spoke up, "Deidara's got a pretty valid point, but I don't know what my opinion counts for in this matter. I barely know the whole story with these two."

Naruto glanced around at his other companions curious about their opinions. Kimimaro stoically remained silent and gave Naruto a careless shrug.

Haku shook her head and huffed, "I say screw both of them. We don't need untrustworthy people in our company."

Upon hearing those words, Zabuza burst into a wide grin and started laughing. Nobody else seemed to get the joke much to his disbelief. After causing an awkward silence, everybody stared at the swordsman awaiting his opinion.

"I say give them a chance, Lord Pein…I mean it's not like either one of them are really a threat to you. We could have pretty boy, Mei, and Haku all watch them just in case," Zabuza added. The swordsman quickly planted his sword into the ground and turned to pull a small book out of his pocket.

Zabuza took a few notes and chuckled to himself before putting the book away. Mei and Haku both shook their heads at this. Fu on the other hand growled, "Zabuza, you're supposed to be on my side!"

Naruto focused his attention on Konan who was looking away from him. The gesture was beginning to annoy him. He quickly grabbed Konan's chin and forced her to look at him.

The woman's amber eyes looked emotionally distraught upon seeing the pain in his. "Why did you betray me, Konan?" he asked.

She tried to look away but couldn't as his hand held her face in place. Finally after a long moment she pleaded, "Please, don't make me have this conversation in front of everybody."

Naruto glanced around and noticed quite a large crowd of his companions were there. Anko, Yugito, and Tayuya had all just now arrived to scene. As Tayuya came running up she glanced at Guren, "What the hell is going on right now?"

"Be quiet, Tayuya," Guren ordered as she held an arm out to stop the red head from going in any closer.

"Yeah fucking right! What the hell is happening here?!" the fiery red head demanded.

Guren covered her mouth with her hand, "Shut up, Konan and somebody else just got here…Pein is dealing with it right now."

Tayuya looked shocked upon seeing Konan and huffed, "Oh, her…"

Anko remained quiet as she got a look at Konan and much to her own disbelief, Shizune.

Naruto glanced over Shizune and then Konan, "You two, come to my office…"

Upon hearing this, Yugito instantly jumped to conclusions, _'Why are they going to his office?! No, Yugito, don't assume the worst. Naruto is just getting facts. It's not like he would do anything shameless in his office with two women…' _

"He wouldn't dare," Yugito said aloud as she stared at Konan and Shizune making their way towards Naruto.

Fu looked horrified by this and immediately ran over and wrapped her arms around one of Naruto's, "I'm coming too!"

He nodded his head, "Okay then…"

Anko flashed a sinister smile at Yugito and whispered, "Knowing him, that'll turn into an orgy in less than ten minutes."

"EH!?" Yugito yelped in disbelief and shock. She turned scarlet and looked away embarrassed at the mention of Naruto and orgy in the same sentence.

"How does it feel knowing they will probably get to fuck him before you do?" Anko whispered again clearly enjoying Yugito's response.

The blonde sent a flustered glare towards the feisty snake mistress, "What makes you think I'd care about something so shameless and immoral?"

Before Yugito could even finish her sentence, Anko had her mouth pressed against the jinchuuriki's ear. Yugito shivered as she felt a tongue lick her earlobe. Anko chuckled at Yugito's shyness and whispered into her ear, "Imagine how it would feel inside of you. A little Kumo princess letting the notorious, evil Pein have his way with her. You're not fooling me, blonde, I can tell you secretly want him to take you. What a naughty little fantasy you have…oh so dirty and shameless."

The jinchuuriki blushed even redder and couldn't think of a response. She couldn't help but imagine how she really wanted the scene in Naruto's office from earlier to play out. The scene she envisioned was having her clothes ripped off and Naruto having his way with her all day long.

As this was going on, Naruto appeared to be in the middle of his arguing companions.

"I agree with what Haku said…Screw both of them, we don't need untrustworthy people! Am I right Haku?! Let's break social barriers!" Zabuza said enthusiastically causing everybody to eye him curiously. Naruto's companions immediately started to get his joke from earlier causing Haku's face to go red with embarrassment as they all came to different conclusions.

Everybody else traded looks of surprise as Naruto led the two of them inside the tower. Fu was clinging to Naruto's arm tightly and kept looking back venomously at Konan and Shizune. Upon finally reaching his office, Naruto closed the door behind them and glanced between the two women, "I'm only allowing this because I want more answers."

"Thank you for hearing us out, Naruto," Shizune spoke up first.

Naruto glared at her, "You don't get to use my name. Same goes for you Konan. Now, if what you said was true, then Madara already had three jinchuuriki?"

"He actually would have had four, but Kisame and Itachi hadn't arrived with the eight tails yet," Shizune explained. Naruto motioned for Fu to let go of his arm causing the girl to pout.

She remained silent but glared furiously at Konan. "You said Madara was retrieving the six tails as well? Hmph…well that's not good."

"Naruto, I know what he wants with jinchuuriki! Madara wants to seal all of them inside of himself!" Konan spoke up again.

"Stop using my real name! You almost fucking said it outside in front of half the village too! I don't need information like that getting back to Konoha! Now, I don't know what you expect from me, but I sure as hell don't see why I should listen to either one of you!" Naruto shouted.

Fu nodded her head in approval, "Yeah, and for the record, we already knew that, Konan."

The azure beauty's eyes shot open, "You did?! Then what will do with us now then?"

"I don't really know what to do with either one of you right now…" Naruto responded

"Kill them…it makes the most sense," Fu added.

"Why is she in here, Naruto?! I thought we were going to talk in private!" Konan demanded. This caused his eyes to light up in rage. It wasn't long before he had Konan pinned against a wall with his hands pressed against her shoulders.

He glared at her for a moment before releasing his grip, "Don't say my name! You lost that right! I don't want to kill you, but I sure as hell have no desire to deal with your lying ass right now! What makes you think you can just come in here and act like nothing fucking happened?!"

"Naruto! You can't blame me for everything that happened at the Valley of the End! I'm sorry okay! I was stupid, I admit it! Madara has always had me on a tight leash and I was afraid to act…I just thought if you were there, you could have had my back in Akatsuki! I didn't want things to turn out like that…I wanted you with us…with me." The woman now had tears freely flowing down her face which was a very strange sight to Naruto.

He could barely believe that Konan was crying, _'Is this for real? How can I be sure if she's sincere about this or not?'_

"**You already know what I think…but I'll let you make this decision. The only plus side is she probably stronger than most of your followers. The down side is she can't really be trusted anymore. Though, assuming what these two mortals say is true, then they did you a huge favor in releasing the other jinchuuriki." **Kyuubi answered.

"Why didn't you try to come with me then?" Naruto asked callously which caused Fu to boil in anger and Shizune to perk up even more interested.

"I wish that I did…it was the biggest mistake of my life, Naruto."

"He told you to stop using his name, you backstabbing bitch! You actually have to care about him to use his real name!" Fu shouted.

Konan ignored her and took a few deep breaths before reaching up to touch Naruto's face, "I can't stop thinking about you…please take me back, Naruto. I'll do anything you want…anything."

Fu was disgusted by that tone. It was the same tone she heard during their threesome. Before Fu could voice her displeasure Naruto grabbed both Konan's wrists and pinned them above her head against the wall,

"Just shut up and stop touching me. " Naruto commanded coldly

"We don't want you here, Konan. I won't let you betray us again," Fu cut in with an aggressive tone.

Shizune inconveniently decided to speak up, "Naruto, there's something I've always wanted to say to you…I-"

Naruto glanced over at Shizune and interrupted, "Sit down, Shizune-neechan!" The bitter way in which he said it made her feel terrible. Before he turned his attention fully back to Konan again, He felt a soft pair of lips meet his. Naruto could barely comprehend the situation as Konan broke out of his hold and had her arms wrapped around his neck and her tongue halfway down his throat. The azure beauty wrapped her legs around his back and started squeezing to keep him from breaking the kiss.

Konan briefly broke the kiss to speak, "I can't hold back any longer! I want you now!" She then smashed her lips against his again and began passionately make out with him. Naruto resisted physically, but found it oddly sensational to hear those words from the crying Konan.

Fu nearly lost her mind at the sight and tackled the two to the ground. Unfortunately, Konan didn't let go. The azure beauty formed paper wings and floated off the ground away from Fu. The green haired girl began wildly slashing spikes around trying to hit Konan who levitated around the room with Naruto in her grip. Fu felt almost helpless watching Konan avoid her while continuing the kiss.

Shizune was very surprised by the way this unfolded and calmly sat down watching the scene with curiosity. Fu was beside herself with disapproval and screamed, "Let him go!"

Finally, Naruto regained his senses and broke out of Konan's grip landing on the ground. The azure beauty didn't bother saying anything as she swooped down with her wings and pinned Naruto against a wall. "Take me right here, right now! If you don't then I'll take you!" Konan shouted aggressively.

"Like hell, you will! Get away from him!" Fu shouted as she charged full speed and stabbed through Konan with a spike. Unfortunately, her attack missed the Kunoichi who dispersed away from it. Instead, the attack impaled Naruto who seemed surprised by the event.

Fu's body began to tremble as she noticed what she just did and receded the spike, "Oh gods I'm so sorry Naruto! Are you okay?!"

She looked worried as she examined the hole through him pooling with blood everywhere. Naruto's chakra cloak activated and began to quickly heal the injury much to her relief. Konan on the other hand sent a death glare towards Fu, "Stop interfering slut! Your reckless temper tantrum just hurt Naruto! I should kill you!"

"I won't let you hurt him again! Naruto is too good for you!" Fu yelled at the woman defensively.

Konan snorted in disapproval, "You're the one that just stabbed him! Not to mention, who are you to say that he is too good for me?! You are just some spastic, attention-seeking, whore…what makes you any better than me?!"

"Lots of things! At least I'm loyal and trustworthy! Plus, I am way better in bed than you are! You couldn't even please him the way I could! Hell, you fell asleep long before he and I were done!" Fu shot back insults.

For some reason, this was the insult that completely set Konan off, "You're going to pay for that!"

Before either girl could break into a fight, Naruto jumped between them.

"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!" he commanded angrily as his injury was now almost fully healed. Both women looked down shamefully as Naruto shook his head in disbelief.

"This is fucking ridiculous…Fu, you need to chill out. Let me deal with this please," the jinchuuriki continued. Both women angrily glared at each other causing an awkward silence.

Fu sent Naruto a quick nod, "I'm sorry, Naruto…I just don't want her to think that she can come back in here and fake a few tears and make everything okay between all of us."

"She has no right to condemn me so readily. She doesn't know all the facts and just jumped to conclusions…give me some more time to explain it to you, Naruto," Konan added.

"Stop being such a selfish bitch, Konan. Even if you are sincere, which I doubt, you clearly have no idea how things work around here. You can't have Naruto all to yourself. He belongs to all of us now," Fu shot back.

Konan's eyes lit up with surprise, "What do you mean all of you?!"

Fu laughed at the woman's question, "Oh, you didn't know? Ha! Naruto isn't a one woman kind of guy."

The azure beauty shot a sharp glare towards Naruto, "What does she mean by that?!"

"What's it to you anyways, Konan? Are you jealous? Good! I want you to be jealous…Naruto takes good care of every woman in his harem," Fu commented smugly.

'_I've never seen this side of Fu before…she must really be upset over this whole Konan thing,' _Naruto thought.

"**Well at least you'll have plenty of things to keep you occupied once all of this is over…hahahahaha!" **Kyuubi chuckled.

Konan raised a brow and scoffed, "Harem?! What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Are you saying he's some kind of polygamist?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. Naruto is a very important and special person. Just being with him is something I am thankful for everyday. So why should we make him worry about choosing one of us when he could just have all of us?" Fu answered much to Konan's disbelief.

The azure beauty shook her head at the notion, "So that's how it is…"

"I wouldn't expect a stuck up prude like you to understand," Fu responded a bit too enthusiastically.

Konan huffed in disapproval at Naruto, "How many women are in this so called harem of yours?!"

Naruto shrugged, "I don't know…that's beside the point anyways. None of that has anything to do with the issues between us."

"Right now it's at six. Me, Haku, Mei, Anko, Guren, and Tayuya are all on board with it so far," Fu answered much to Konan's dissatisfaction.

A coy smile crossed Shizune's lips at the mention of Naruto's harem, _'I didn't know he was like that…maybe there's room for me too!'_

The Amekage seemed rather annoyed, "I don't share…"

"Then I guess you don't get any love…of course, being a traitor and all, I doubt that you would anyways," Fu laughed at her.

Naruto sighed at Fu's intentional antagonism before turning towards Konan, "I don't really know what else to say to you. Give me one good reason why I should ever trust you again?"

Konan was beside herself with jealousy at the idea of six women sinking their claws into him and keeping Naruto away from her. The thing that upset her the most was Naruto's lack of conscience in the matter. Was this all some sort of divine punishment? It seemed completely unfair to her.

"You're an indecisive bastard! You both think I'm selfish? I'm not the one playing bandit king out here! I mean don't you even feel a little guilty fucking every woman in sight that wants you?! I guess none of it means anything to you does it?! I'll bet you never even gave me a second thought after you left! I doubt you really care about those stupid whores in your harem either!" Konan yelled jealously at Naruto.

"How's he doing anything wrong? Naruto is only trying to make everyone happy…you're just jealous because you can't be a part of it!" Fu defended him.

Konan couldn't lie to herself…she was extremely envious. She felt completely powerless in this situation and simply stood there with a downcast stare.

"Konan," Naruto spoke up after an awkward silence. She glanced up and met his gaze with a longing look in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to say something, but simply remained silent as the two stared at each other. Naruto tried to think of something to say.

Finally, she looked away painfully, "What a fool I've made of myself by actually believing for one second in my petty little fantasy that you liked me the same way that I like you. You clearly hate me, so I should just go."

Much to her disbelief, and Fu's, Konan felt a pair of arms wrap around her back and pull her into an embrace. She could barely believe it, but Naruto was hugging her.

She stood there awkwardly not knowing how to react as several tears streamed down her face. Naruto rested his chin on her shoulder and spoke softly, "I don't hate you, Konan."

Her heart began to race as she turned to meet his gaze, "Y-you, don't?"

"Why would I?" he asked somewhat rhetorically.

"I just thought that…" Konan trailed off.

He interrupted her and placed a finger over her mouth, "You don't have to say anything else, Konan. Don't ever think that I didn't care about you…why do you think I'm having a hard time dealing with this? I do care about you, but it's going to be difficult for me to trust you again…"

She sent him a look of desperate approval, "I'll do whatever it takes to be with you. If you let me stay, I'll prove myself a thousand times over."

"I…I don't know," Naruto said aloud still contemplating what to do.

Her amber eyes gazed up at him longingly, "It's enough to know you care…I will go if you don't want me here."

Finally giving in to her, Naruto sighed, "You can stay, Konan…"

With those words, Konan almost felt as if she could melt into his arms.

A disapproving cough from Fu interrupted Konan's romantic moment, "If she is going to stay then she better get used to the rest of us, because I'm not fine with the idea of her just coming in and thinking she's queen…and I'm sure the others would agree as well."

Konan glanced over at her and scoffed, "We'll see about that won't we? The rest of you are little more than concubines anyways."

"Konan…I care about all of them. Try to be a little more open-minded and get to know them. If you prove yourself to them, then I might be able to trust you again," Naruto spoke up causing Konan to eye him curiously.

She rolled her eyes at the idea but decided to give it some thought later.

Fu didn't seem to approve of this scene but stayed quiet. Konan glanced anxiously at Naruto, "So then you'll let me stay here with you?" She wanted solid affirmation.

Naruto broke the hug and glanced between her and Fu.

"You can stay, but only under the conditions that Guren and Haku both keep an eye on you. Don't do anything without my permission and don't leave the village. Am I understood?" Naruto projected.

Konan looked relieved to hear this but decided to press her luck as she went for another kiss. Unfortunately, Fu put a hand in front of her face and blocked her from it. The gesture really put her off, but Konan simply backed away and ignored Fu.

The azure beauty turned towards Naruto again spoke up more lively, "Thank you for giving me another chance, Naruto."

"Go now, Konan, I'd like to talk to these two alone," he commanded.

The kunoichi looked a bit put off by the notion but obeyed nonetheless in hopes of building up her disposition again.

After she exited the office, Naruto glanced at Fu, "Haku and Guren will officially watch her, but I want you to do some espionage for time being. You are assigned to make sure she doesn't do anything I wouldn't approve of. However, please don't go around antagonizing her now that she's here. It's only going to make things more awkward between all of us. Go now and make sure that nobody says anything stupid out there. I need to deal with Shizune…"

Fu nodded her head, "Yes, Naruto, but just so you know…I am going to make sure the 'queen' knows her place around here. She's got a long way to go if she wants to earn my trust again."

He nodded his head before Fu gave him a quick kiss. As she left the office, Shizune was the only one left in there. She quietly and patiently waited there for him to address her. "Shizune, I honestly can't figure you out. I could barely believe you were a member of Akatsuki and now you're saying you've gone rogue with Konan. You just never seemed the type…" Naruto spoke calmly.

"I know you think I'm a coward, but I do genuinely want to be here," she responded.

He made his way over towards his chair and sat directly across from her. She anxiously awaited what he was going to say next. "To be honest, I think I trust you more than Konan…do you know why?"

She sent him a confused glance and shook her head, "No, why is that, Pein?"

"You've known that I was Pein all along and you never told Konoha. You manipulated Madara into trusting you and assuming you're telling the truth about setting the other jinchuuriki free…you've set his plan back and bought me more time," Naruto explained.

"I promise you it's true…I actually convinced him to go get the six tails after his battle with Konan. I swear to you on my life, I'm telling the truth. I would not cross you, Naruto. In fact I tried my best to keep him from knowing your true identity as long as possible. He didn't really find out until after your battle at Ame. Itachi convinced me to keep your identity as Kushina's son a secret from him, but he found out once I arrived at the Valley of the End," the woman ranted desperately hoping to set the record straight.

"Itachi? Why would he do that?" Naruto asked bewildered.

She shrugged, "I don't know, but he didn't seem to like Madara all that much either. Of course back then, I didn't even know he was Madara. Now that I think about it, I don't think Itachi is very loyal to Madara."

"Did you mean what you said back outside? Would you really have joined me like Deidara did if you knew what I was capable of before all of that mess happened at the Valley of the End?" Naruto asked curiously.

She nodded her head, "In a heartbeat. I know that you have no reason to believe me, but I've gone out of my way to try and help you. If I'm lying then you can just kill me."

Finally Naruto sighed, "Alright, well you've convinced me enough to let you stay for now. Although, I will hold you to that, Shizune-neechan. I am surrounded by allies who are very overprotective of me…just remember that if the thought of lying to me ever crosses your mind. I wouldn't even get to kill you before they ripped you to shreds. So long as you prove your worth around here, and show some respect to my senior ranking followers, then I won't have a problem with you."

The medic nin let out a sigh of relief before running over to hug him. He awkwardly sat there in his chair as the woman embraced him and before long she was straddling him. Naruto gave her a bizarre look, "What are you doing?"

"I know how you are with the ladies…" she said seductively as she began to pull her Akatsuki robe off. Naruto just sat there in disbelief as the woman then pulled her kimono open revealing her bust. She sent him a playful smile, "There's another reason I want to be here…"

Naruto made an effort to push her away but accidentally touched her chest causing a loud moan to escape her lips, "Naruto, I didn't know you were so eager."

"Shizune, what the hell are you doing?" he asked. She leaned down and began to kiss his neck as she grinded her hips against him.

"Can I be in your harem? I'll gladly let you do anything you want whenever you want…" She whispered seductively.

The jinchuuriki picked her up and placed her on the desk which caused her eyes to light up with excitement. Shizune quickly positioned herself for what she wanted, but then much to her annoyance, Naruto walked away.

"W-wait! Where are you going?!" She pleaded as she stood up and followed Naruto who was making his way towards the door. She blocked him and spread her arms in front of the room's exit, "You can't leave yet."

He shook his head and chuckled at her behavior, "You just got here, Shizune…"

"Call me Neechan…it turns me on more," she giggled.

"Put your clothes back on, Shizune-neechan, I don't have time to play bandit king today…" he said distantly.

The woman looked annoyed by his statement, "Oh c'mon, please?! I'll let you do anything you want to me…"

"Since when have you even liked me like that?" he asked bewildered as he furrowed his brow.

"I always thought you were a cute kid…but you grew up to be really sexy and powerful. You can't blame me for wanting a piece of you. Everybody else seems to want the same thing…in one way or another haha," the medic nin smiled.

He shook his head, "Simply finding me attractive isn't the same thing as liking me. I can't really take you seriously right now anyways."

"When have I ever given you a reason to think that I didn't like you?" she countered.

"The Valley of the End…" he replied nonchalantly. A scowl crossed her face at the mention of this. Naruto gestured for her to move as he made his way to the door, but was surprised when she grabbed his arm.

"Wait! I know this is going to sound strange coming from me, but I have liked you ever since Tsunade and I came to Konoha. It was innocent at first…I thought you were sweet and caring. You always cheered me up and I admired your courage. Part of me always thought that if you were older, I'd be interested. Well…when I saw you again after all these years, it just brought back so many memories. You were so brave standing up to Madara even though it would have been easier to accept his offer. You have no fear and you show incredible compassion to your friends and lovers. To be honest, I am really envious of them. I want to have that feeling too," Shizune confessed.

"**These women are going to be the death of you…and me." **Kyuubi spoke up.

"What are you saying exactly? You're seriously interested in me?" Naruto questioned skeptically.

She rested her head against his arm, "I don't care if there are others…just as long as I can be with you too."

"You do understand how this looks to me right? I just agreed to let you stay and now you're trying to cozy up to me? Hell I just choked you out like twenty minutes ago. I don't know what kind of a person you truly are, Shizune, but I am not convinced," Naruto replied as he pulled his arm out of her grip.

"That's how I know you care. You would not be mad at Konan and me if you did not like us. You could have easily killed me a hundred different ways up till now and you haven't. Understand how this looks from my point of view…you like me at least a little bit. Admit it, Naruto," Shizune responded with a playful smile.

He shook his head and laughed, "You're delusional…what kind of twisted logic is that?"

"You don't have to play this game with me, Naruto…I want to be one of your girls. So how's about you stop teasing me already," the brunette responded as she put her hands on his chest. Naruto grabbed her hands and made an effort to push her back which caused her to burst into a wide grin now that the two of them were holding hands.

"I think you like this kind of thing. I think you enjoy making a girl spill her guts out to you while you put up this uninterested bad boy persona. You tease her just enough to make her go crazy over you and then you walk away making her want you even more. It's no wonder you got Konan to fall for you," Shizune explained coyly.

"**Hahahaha! She's really smart for a mortal…" **Kyuubi laughed.

'_Shut up fox! I don't do that…do I?'_

"**Not always and maybe not intentionally, but let's be honest here, she nailed you with that comment."**

The man looked away slightly embarrassed, "Uh, yeah…anyways, I have stuff to do." Naruto tried to push her away and make his way towards the exit. Unfortunately, Shizune stopped him as she wrapped her legs around one of his and pressed her crotch against his thigh.

Her grip tightened on his hands as she pushed him back towards his desk, "Don't play games with me, Naruto…I already want you."

"You need to stop this, okay? I'm completely serious, Shizune!" Naruto stated sternly as he resisted her forcefully.

He easily overpowered her and managed to throw her a good distance away from him. She fell on her ass causing her Kimono to come fully undone. Shizune licked two of her fingers and slowly brought them down as she spread her legs.

Naruto couldn't believe it, but Shizune was pleasuring herself in front of him. She sent him a lustful stare, "I know the real reason you kept me alive…you wanted to punish me for being a bad girl. Come over here and make your Shizune-neechan beg for forgiveness."

The jinchuuriki muttered under his breath, "You never seemed the type…"

Shizune stood up and charged him and before long her naked front was pressed against him on the ground. "I know you want to fuck me, pervert! Fuck your Shizune-neechan until she cums!"

Much to her surprise, Naruto reversed their positions and was now on top of her. Her eyes lit up with delight at the look on his face. She spread her legs and wrapped them around his causing his groin to press against hers. Naruto quickly felt intense heat radiating from her now soaking wet panties. Shizune quickly took notice of his reaction, "You see how much I want it? Give it to me, Naruto. Violate me!"

He couldn't help but be completely turned on by this situation much to his own disbelief. The medic nin's eyes widened with anticipation when she felt him hardening.

"I want you inside of me," she cooed with a soft moan.

"I'll entertain the thought, Shizune-neechan, but I have to go right now," he said softly as he brushed a hand through some of her ebony locks of hair. Her cheeks turned crimson as his face barely hovered above hers. Without wasting another second, they met in a passionate kiss which was way better than what Naruto was expecting.

He was making out with a half naked Shizune in the middle of Orochimaru's old office…and he liked it. He couldn't help but let his mind wander at all the ironic things that had happened leading up to this moment.

Shizune was first to break the kiss and instantly went for his pants trying to pull them off. A loud knock on the door brought both of them out of their mood and caused Naruto to perk up.

As the door flew open, Mei, Guren, and Haku came rushing in followed by Fu. "Naruto, what's this nonsense about me having to watch, Konan?!" Haku demanded.

"You've been in here a long time with her and…"Guren spoke up before she realized the position the two were in. A loud shriek escaped Fu's lips as she came barreling past everybody, "What are you doing with her?!"

Naruto stood up much to Shizune's displeasure and rubbed the back of his head, "I know this must look kind of strange…"

"I didn't realize you were so horny today…I'm available whenever you need me," Mei chuckled as she made her way over towards him. The red head ran a soft finger down his chest and winked.

Haku coughed, "If you're going to make me watch Konan…I want my payment in advance."

"How did you two end up like that?" Guren spoke up curiously as she eyed the flustered Shizune who was now putting her clothes on.

"Well, since you four are here, I'll just make this official. Shizune wants to be one of you…I'll let you girls work it out," Naruto answered as he made his way to the door.

Fu raised a brow, "She's staying too?!"

Naruto nodded his head, "Yeah, she's good for now. If she tries anything stupid, kill her. Anyways, I have stuff to do, so you girls play nice."

Without another word, Naruto left his office leaving the five women alone. As he left he thought for a moment,_ 'Wait…if they're all in there, then who is watching Konan right now?'_

Meanwhile back inside the office, every woman was staring at Shizune like a piece of meat. "What did you do?!" Haku demanded as she took a step closer.

"I told Naruto how I felt…he said I'm good to stay as long as I follow certain conditions," Shizune answered as vaguely as possible hoping to incite them.

"Was spreading your legs one of those conditions?" Mei laughed.

The medic nin grinned sinisterly, "Maybe…you know how he is around women."

Haku did not appreciate that comment, "Don't talk about him like that! We're more to him than playthings."

Mei chuckled, "He's more like our plaything to be honest haha."

Guren shook her head at Shizune, "I couldn't help but notice you've got quite the mouth on you. You must be pretty convincing if you managed to talk Naruto into sparing your life."

"She's another whore, trying to fuck her way into his life. Naruto's got enough concubines with Mei, Anko, and gods know who else…" Haku added.

Shizune raised her hands in defense, "Girls, please don't get the wrong idea…I just wanted to be part of the harem. It's pretty kinky, I have to admit."

"Please don't use that term…I like to pretend that his cock hasn't been inside of Mei…" Haku sighed as she sent a disapproving glance at the red head.

Mei scoffed at her, "You could learn a thing or two if you watched Fu and me fuck him. We had a great time back at the hot springs."

"So did I!" Haku shot back.

The medic nin sighed as she cut into the conversation again, "I'm jealous…you all get to do intimate things like that whenever you want with him. What do I have to do to prove myself to all of you around here?"

Guren shrugged, "Just don't be an obnoxious slut like Anko or a whiny bitch like Haku."

The ice princess didn't appear offended by Guren's comment and nodded, "Yeah, and don't be like Mei or Fu and go off thinking you're his main girl. I don't tolerate greedy bitches…"

Mei brushed a hand through her bangs and shook her head, "I'm perfectly okay with you joining in. Just remember that we're your seniors in the harem. We all get priority over you…at least until you've proven yourself."

Shizune appeared relieved by their mixed approval, "I just want to be with him in any way I can."

Fu walked over towards the medic nin and pushed her against a wall. Shizune looked surprised as a long spike came out of Fu's forearm. The green haired girl gave Shizune a psychopathic grin, "I don't care if you fuck him…but if you EVER hurt him, I will flay your fucking skin off and shred you into pieces! However, as long as you're one of us, I also don't want you and Konan hanging out!"

"Why's that?" the brunette asked curiously.

Fu cracked a fist, "Until she earns my forgiveness, I don't want her even entertaining the thought of being in our harem."

The medic nin nodded her head and let out a sigh of relief as Fu backed away. She bowed her head to the green haired girl much to her surprise, "Thank you, Fu, for giving me a chance. I know we got off on bad terms, but I hope you come to like me."

Her respectful tone caught the minty haired jinchuuriki off guard. She was not expecting Shizune to be so obedient and polite about this.

"Well, I'm glad we cleared that up then…" Fu responded unsure of what else to say.

Mei glanced at Fu, "Where is Naruto going right now? I haven't gotten to talk to him about Yagura yet…"

"Hell if I know…anyways, I'm going to keep an eye on Konan. See you all later." Without another word, the girls began to disperse out of the office.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That's a wrap for now. Let's go over our chapter review shall we?

I know what you're thinking… "Oh damn you Crimson Ultrafox for another stupid filler chapter!" I apologize if that's what it seems like to you, but I wanted to build a little more development in order to enrich future chapters.

Well, yeah…something like that. At least I'm updating, fairly regular now. Please be patient, folks…the good shit is coming soon (to a computer near you).

Alright so clearly Naruto's interaction with Sasuke was one of the important parts of this chapter. I'm sure many of you will question his Mangekyo Sharingan. I already know what you're going to say so whatever.

Moving on, we had quite a big scene with Konan and Shizune arriving. Perhaps it was what you expected…perhaps you wanted something more. Lots of emotions and fan service harem stuff was in this chapter. I promise not to drown you with it if I can help it.

I know my action fans out there probably hated this chapter, but I wanted to realistically build upon the relationships of the women in the harem. Of course that's ironic since it's a fanfiction with a harem theme based off of an anime…so you know it's really realistic (sarcasm). You know what I mean though…I just want it to seem genuine. Naruto accepted Konan back, but he still doesn't trust her. He cares a lot about the girls in his harem and said that if she can earn their trust then she will reacquire his.

The little bit with Shizune may or may not have perked a few peoples' interest. I tried to make it clearer in this chapter that she was pretty smart. I will let you interpret that however you want for now.

I promise that the thrill-ride, roller coaster of action packed adventures is coming back really soon. Stay tuned for the next chapter…Uchiha Pride!

I never expected this story to get this far so thanks again my loyal reviewers.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Uchiha Pride**

Naruto distanced himself away from the village center in hopes of getting away from his companions. He didn't know why, but for some reason they were starting to annoy him. He mentally fumed with frustration at the current situation he was in. Jounin patrols and random civilians in Oto bowed low as he passed by. Despite their overall approval of him as their leader, the people of Oto were very afraid of Pein.

The jinchuuriki glanced around at them and gave silent nods. After a while, Naruto began to tune out his surroundings and drifted further into his own thoughts.

'_I can't believe how ridiculous these last couple of weeks have been…how did I get this sidetracked over a bunch of women?!'_ The Rinnegan user shook his head in frustration.

A familiar chuckle echoed in his mind**, "Like I said…those women are going to be the death of you. Maybe not directly, but indirectly. This is why I warned you away from them for such a long time. However, against my wishes, you continued to pursue such a reckless and distracting interest. At this point, all I can do is laugh at the dumb situations they put you in."**

'_Hey, Kyuubi, I don't need to hear your preaching right now. You are no doubt right as usual. I've been trying to live like some sort of bandit king out here. I've gotten way too comfortable! How am I going to become more powerful at this rate?' _he continued walking throughout the outskirts of the village catching the awe and fear of many of its residents.

"**Listen kit…I'm not trying to give you a hard time. There's a time and a place for these things, and I suppose I can't blame you for wanting to indulge yourself. Nevertheless, our ultimate goal will never be within reach so long as you allow them to sidetrack you." **Kyuubi's tone was rather lucid and calm.

Naruto sighed in agreement, _'I know what you mean. What was I even doing back there? I can't believe I just made out with Shizune-neechan. Not only that, but Konan too! I was so angry when I saw her again, but after she kissed me, I just felt like it wouldn't be right to let her go. I mean she was crying…does she genuinely care about me? I didn't know what to do, Kyuubi.'_

Kyuubi sighed,** "You hold a soft spot for your companions. I know you think that you are powerful enough to protect and control all of them, but some of greatest dangers come from the places you never expect."**

'_So you don't think I can trust Konan or Shizune?' _Naruto asked.

"**Obviously not, but they are not what I'm talking about. I am referring to all of your companions in general. You seem to care for them a little more than you safely should," **the fox answered with a serious tone.

The jinchuuriki thought for a moment about his companions, _'What do you mean, safely should?_'

"**You have always been too nice for your own good, but this trend you have recently developed can easily be used against you by your enemies. Your followers and especially your mates could be used in order to get to you. Do you understand what I'm saying? That is your weakness. That is why you have to distance yourself emotionally from them."**

'_My weakness…' _he thought to himself in bewilderment. There was a long span of silence that followed his revelation.

The jinchuuriki was brought from his thoughts when Kyuubi began to speak again, **"You think yourself powerful, kit, but Madara is not the kind of foe who will attack you directly. He is going to try and screw with your head by hurting those around you. You aren't doing your companions any favors with your current lack of ambition. Have you even considered that Madara would destroy this little fantasy life you've built just to draw you to him? How could you explain your inability to protect them when that happens?"**

'_I won't let that happen!' _Naruto shouted enraged.

Kyuubi cackled with approval, **"That's the attitude I want to see! Though instead of wasting your power on something so miniscule, you should focus on a greater destiny!"**

Naruto finally calmed down after a few moments and brooded, _'What greater destiny? What even happens if I kill Madara? Nothing…I just go back to being Pein.'_

"**Just think about it for a moment…would you rather live like a king as you do now or a god? You fancied yourself one recently until this whole mess with Konan happened. Why do you think that is" **Kyuubi asked.

The jinchuuriki shrugged, _'I just don't care…I don't know what I even want anymore. No matter how much power I've acquired over these years, nothing changes. I'm no closer to ridding the world of terrible people and I still feel the same emptiness as I always have.'_

The fox huffed,** "I know that feeling well; you desire a purpose…a true purpose."**

'_Maybe…but what purpose would that even be? I mean what happens after all of this is over? I have no clue what the future holds for me. What possible use would I have for acquiring power once Madara is defeated? Sometimes it feels like I don't want to know where all of this ends.'_

Kyuubi sighed at his question, **"Sooner or later you won't have a choice. This life you live was forced upon you long ago and the only way to understand it is by following where it goes. Whether or not you choose to believe it is for some greater reason is up to you, kit. I honestly don't know. Maybe it's your destiny to become the next Sage of Six Paths…but even still, your power is nothing compared to his. Neither is mine or Madara's. The Rikudou Sennin was a living god. To truly understand his power you must follow his path."**

'_About how much stronger would you say he was in comparison to me right now?' _Naruto asked slowly not really wanting to know the answer.

"**By my guess, he would easily be ten times more powerful than you are now. You simply lack the raw power he wielded and the mastery of the Rinnegan. Not to mention, I cannot even imagine the power he commanded as Juubi's container. He would have literally been invincible."**

'_There's gotta be something I can do! How can I follow his path?' _he demanded with a hint of desperation.

The fox was unsure of how to respond, **"It's not really something I can explain to you…the Sage transcended even the bijou."**

'_What about Juubi? He must have seen the Sage's true power before separating. Surely he must know of some way I can acquire more of the Rinnegan's power as well as unlocking a Sharingan.'_

"**That's not a good idea. Even if you could, you do not want to wake up Juubi. Why would he want to help you become more powerful? He would see you as his future jailer," **Kyuubi responded with a worried tone.

Naruto stood silently with a downcast stare at the horizon, _'Well, that's mostly hypothetical anyways since I wouldn't even have the capability to wake him up without sealing all of the bijou.'_

"**That's not technically true…he could easily manifest if he had a fraction of all of our chakra come into contact with his body. He's already tasted mine, Nanabi's, and Sanbi's chakra. You don't even need me to warn you of the dangers of letting that happen."**

'_So, sealing Sanbi was a gamble then after all?' _Naruto asked rhetorically. Kyuubi nodded his head, **"Yes, but a necessary one…just be careful when you summon that statue in the future. I can't be certain of what kind of long term effect my chakra has had on it…"**

'_Great…now you tell me. That thing was a damn blessing back in the Valley of the End. Though I guess I don't really need it if I have your full power.'_

"**My full power…perhaps I should have mentioned this sooner, but half of my power was sealed away back during your parents' 'sacrifice.'" **Kyuubi stated clearly emphasizing his disapproval.

'_What?! My parents sealed away half of your power?!' _Naruto demanded furiously.

Kyuubi sighed, **"Yeah, your father has it…and since he's dead, there is no way for you to get it back. Unless…you were somehow able to bring dead people back to life."**

Naruto's eyes shot wide with disbelief, _'No…I refuse to do that. He would never agree to something like being one of my paths! Plus, why would I want that anyways? The last thing I need is my dad trying to stop me when I finally put Konoha in its place.'_

"**I fear you might not have a choice depending on how this all plays out. However, there are other ways of going about extracting that power…unfortunately you'll need his body for that and I don't know where it is." **the fox noted with a hint of frustration.

The jinchuurki thought for a moment, _'It's not in Konoha?'_

"**No, why would it be? Hmm…come to think of it, didn't Orochimaru have the corpses of the Hokages several years ago? You might be able to find Yondaime's body through him," **Kyuubi suggested.

'_Isn't Orochimaru dead though? My companions killed him not too long ago,'_ Naruto realized causing a wave of disappointment to wash over him.

"**Do you honestly think he's dead? That elusive son of a bitch dodged you for years. I find it hard to believe that several of them killed the snake. I wouldn't believe him dead until I saw it with my own eyes," **Kyuubi replied doubtfully.

An idea crossed Naruto's mind as he jerked his head back towards the village center, _'Who was all involved with that stuff anyways? Guren, Tayuya, Kimimaro, Anko, and Sasuke. So I will bring those five with me and go to Kusa with Deidara. Recovering the other half of your power is very crucial. I wish you would have told me this sooner.'_

"**Yes, the thought never crossed my mind until just now. I had never considered it before because of the seal anyways. Recovering the rest of my power is a good start, kit. It is a good plan, but what are you going to do about your slaves?"**

Naruto's mind wandered at Kyuubi's question as he gave it some thought, _'I wonder how well this place would hold together without me around? If I take those six, it will leave Mei, Haku, Zabuza, Fu, Yugito, Konan, and Shizune. Is it really safe to leave them unattended?_'

"**Put Zabuza in charge or something. He's not a part of your little mating circle and he's completely loyal to you. The other pawns also seem to have an all around approval of him…he could keep them in line while we were away. Although, I have my doubts about Konan, Shizune, and Yugito. You might need to assign a buddy system or something like that."** Kyuubi recommended excitedly.

'_That will definitely work. Sounds like you've already given this some thought. Alright so I can have Zabuza in charge, and he'll watch over the village. Fu can watch Konan, Mei can watch Yugito, and Haku can watch Shizune.' _Naruto added.

"**This plan will suffice. You should go gather them up now and spread the news," **Kyuubi said enthusiastically.

Naruto nodded his head in agreement, _'I'm glad you're so agreeable.'_

An amused laugh followed his statement, **"What can I say? When you're motivated and intelligent, I feel like it will be a good day. Too bad it doesn't happen very often…"**

Naruto shook his head, _'You're so funny, Kyuubi…' _His callous sarcasm caused the fox to laugh even harder at his own joke.

Without another word, Naruto quickly made his way back towards the village center. He focused his chakra intensely and began to speak telepathically to his four paths, _'Zabuza, Haku, Guren, Kimimaro…gather the others and meet me in front of the tower. I have a new plan for everybody.'_

Zabuza was the first to respond, _"Of course, Naruto! I'll be right there."_

Haku seemed surprised, _"How are you speaking to me right now, Naruto? Wait…what is going on?"_

Guren and Kimimaro both didn't respond, but Naruto knew they were probably gathering the others. The Rinnegan user glanced around waiting for all of his companions to show up. Several minutes passed and nobody arrived.

As he waited patiently, strange visions began to flash through Naruto's eyes as his mind wandered to a faraway place. He closed his eyes and focused heavily on the source. His mind seemed to swirl through a storm of visions as if he was watching somebody else's memories before he finally came upon a shadowy figure barely outlined in the pitch black darkness.

The figure turned around slowly and Naruto was surprised to see himself standing in front of him. He stared in astonishment at the differences though. This other him had his old blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Suddenly, Naruto felt this strange vibration from deep within his body. It began to pound and pulse like a second heartbeat throughout his chakra stream.

Naruto watched in bewilderment as his other self began to speak to him,_ 'You can't avoid me forever.' _

'_What is this?! Who the hell are you!?' _Naruto demanded causing his other self to shake his head.

'_Naruto Uzumaki,' _the other Naruto stated.

The real Naruto growled in annoyance, _'I am Naruto Uzumaki…I don't know what you are.'_

The individual smiled, _'You have a great name. He must kill your name before he kills you.'_

'_Before who kills me?! What do you want from me?!' _Naruto demanded.

The other Naruto pointed a short distance away from the real Naruto. His eyes went wide with disbelief when he saw a massive pair of Rinnegan eyes in the distance.

'_Don't let him kill me, Pein!' _the other Naruto shouted, but much to Naruto's disbelief a sword impaled the other him from behind.

Naruto watched his other self drop to his knees and cough up blood. Standing behind the injured Naruto was a shadowy figure that the real Naruto could not make out. He ran as fast as he could towards the other Naruto, but stopped dead in his tracks when the injured blonde fell over dead.

'_He was so weak,' _the figure stated before disappearing. Naruto's eyes quickly shot open as a massive surge of rage and bloodlust filled him.

The jinchuuriki roared as he began to channel a massive amount of chakra into his arms, _'I AM NOT WEAK!' _Kyuubi seemed completely bewildered by this outburst, **"What are you doing kit?! Why are you shouting?!"**

'_ARRRGHHH!' _Naruto screamed in his mindscape with bloodlust. Kyuubi quickly took notice of the chakra levels rising exponentially from Naruto's body. **"I see now…do it kit! Unleash all nine tails! The seal can no longer restrain you!"**

His body glowed blue from chakra, but soon turned red as he began to channel even harder. This was quickly catching the village's attention causing them to cower in fear at the sight. Guren and Kimimaro had just now arrived and both traded worried looks. They both began to glow in red chakra as well and watched with astonishment as one by one, tails emerged from Naruto's chakra cloak.

"**Unleash as much as you can. I want to see what it will do to you," **Kyuubi commanded seriously as the ground began to shake beneath Naruto's feet. Small rocks and parts of the ground crumbled upwards as they levitated off the ground. By this point, Naruto's skin seemed to be flaking and healing nonstop at the colossal surge of power. Many of his companions were now arriving to witness this scene.

"Lord Pein, what are you doing? You're going to destroy your body!" Guren shouted worriedly as more of Naruto's skin flaked away and blood poured from all orifices. This quickly attracted the attention of all of his other companions who simply watched in horror.

Konan flew over and was about to run towards him before a glowing Zabuza snatched her arm, "Don't interfere!"

The azure haired woman gave him a disapproving glare. The others all stared with desperation hoping that Naruto was okay.

'_More power…more power…MORE POWER!' _Naruto chanted in his head furiously. His Rinnegan began to glow intensely as he looked upwards towards the sky. Then much to his surprise, the red chakra around his fingertips turned golden white. This quickly spread down his arms and legs and soon covered his entire body.

His hair glowed like intense white fire as two bangs stuck up like horns. His entire body appeared to be on fire with this golden white chakra and his Rinnegan was now red with slits. Many of his features were more pronounced such as his fangs, his whisker marks, and claw like nails.

Everybody watched with awe as Naruto began to levitate off the ground. He formed a golden chakra ball in his hand and began to channel all of his chakra into it causing the orb to swell to a colossal size. Kyuubi was beside himself with excitement, **"YES!"**

Much to everyone's disbelief, Naruto brought his other hand towards the chakra ball and aimed it towards the sky. Without a word he unleashed the orb causing it to streak as a golden beam into the sky. Unsatisfied with its speed, Naruto held up both of his hands and shouted, "Shinra Tensei!" All of the chakra from the orb almost seemed to explode in the sky from the added force causing a blinding explosion in the sky. The sound unleashed from this attack made thunder seem quiet as it boomed deafeningly.

After the power display finally subsided, everybody could barely make out the silhouette of Naruto landing on the ground. Everybody adjusted their eyes in order to get over the disorientation. After a few moments the entire village went dead silent again as everybody stared at Naruto.

His chakra began to recede much to their relief and before long he was back to his normal self. Except there was one noticeable difference about him now. Sasuke stared at him almost nostalgically and finally broke the silence, "Your hair…"

Ignoring Kyuubi's happy ranting, Naruto calmed himself down and eyed his friend curiously, "What about my hair?"

"Look…" Haku added as she formed an ice mirror in front of Naruto causing him to see his own reflection. His eyes went wide with surprise when he noticed his hair was golden blonde again. Naruto was unsure of how to react to this and simply looked away.

He looked around at all of his companions; all of which eyed him readily.

Even the civilians and local Oto ninja seemed to be gazing at him with what appeared to be something between astonishment and fear. Everybody remained quiet waiting for him to speak. From a quick survey of their expressions he could tell many were anxious and worried.

"Lord Pein! What was that?!" a worried Guren almost demanded as she took a step closer. Naruto cocked his head in amusement at her concern, "I just needed to wake myself up…starting right now, we're back to business everybody. No more hanging out and no more of this harem crap until I've dealt with Madara."

Every member of Naruto's entourage went wide eyed at his statement. The women especially seemed pissed off about it. "What the hell do you mean by that?!" Fu spoke up frustrated.

"Master you can't just stop…I won't have any inspiration for my book!" Zabuza announced sadly.

Haku coughed, "Why though?!"

"I don't approve of this…" Mei cut in dryly.

Deidara decided to change the subject as he jumped in front of everybody else, "Boss, that was one of the most beautiful explosions I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. I am truly honored by your humble mastery of my art."

"Hey shut up you tranny and move," Tayuya pushed past the blonde man, "I think this is bullshit. I mean Fu's already gotten like three whole nights hasn't she?! It's only fair that the rest of us get the same amount of time!"

"Tranny eh? Like I haven't heard that before…Hmm," Deidara muttered annoyed.

Fu blushed and sent a nasty glare towards Tayuya, "It was only two! Plus, I had to share both times with Konan and Mei."

Shizune sighed, "This isn't fair…"

"We'll see how you feel about this later tonight, eh Lord Pein?" Anko chuckled suggestively. Yugito gave her a disgusted glare, _'Ugh, why do people like HER like him?'_

Guren nodded her head in approval, "This is probably for the best. I for one have no desire to go against the master's wishes. I support your decision wholly my lord."

Mei coughed, "Kiss ass," she continued to cough and sent a 'yeah right' look to Guren.

Konan on the other hand seemed to be the only person in approval of this news, _'Good…if he stops focusing on them, then maybe I can patch things up with him. There's no way in hell I'm going to become friends with any of these sluts.'_

Kimimaro walked closer towards Naruto and addressed him formally, "Master, you seemed distressed earlier from your message. What are our new orders?"

Naruto pat the white haired man on the shoulder and turned his attention back towards his companions, "There is something I have to do…I need to find my father's body. I need Orochimaru for that…"

Everybody traded confused glances unsure of what Naruto was getting at. Guren raised a brow curiously, "I thought we killed him though…"

Kimimaro looked concerned, "Did you guys make sure he was dead?"

Tayuya face palmed at the thought, "We just assumed he was after the battle…I mean he couldn't have survived."

Sasuke was quick to pick up on it however, "My Kirin appeared to be effective in killing him…but we never found a body."

The blonde jinchuuriki, turned his gaze towards Sasuke, "You know that means that he is alive…"

The Uchiha nodded his head in understanding. Naruto sighed as he glanced over his companions, "Alright, here are your orders. Those of you that were involved in Orochimaru's supposed death are going to come with me and help me find him. The rest of you will stay here and await our return."

Everybody instantly began to interject with questions. "Wait, why do you need your father's body?" Zabuza asked.

"Who is your father?" Mei chimed in curiously.

Kimimaro shook his head, "I will make sure we kill him this time…for you Lord Pein."

"What does Orochimaru have to do with your father?" Guren asked.

Anko, Tayuya, and Sasuke already knew the answer but didn't say anything due to the public setting they were all in.

"Everything is on a need to know basis for now, but I need to find Orochimaru…alive," Naruto answered.

Haku shook her head in frustration, "Wait, you're leaving again? What are the rest of us supposed to do here?"

"I don't like the idea of you putting us on hold and just leaving us here…" Mei added.

Yugito looked around nervously unsure of what to say. Naruto quickly took notice of the expression on her face.

The blonde woman began to pace anxiously awaiting more further instructions. Deidara chuckled as he strolled over and pat Naruto on the back, "I know you'll need your express pilot of course."

Naruto nodded at the bomber causing him to beam with excitement. "Good, I've been bored with the lack of action around here anyways."

"Oh, there's been action…too bad there won't be any more for a while" Zabuza cut in with an amused chuckle. Deidara raised a brow and laughed, "Of course, but I was referring to the wonderful and illustrious art of explosions!"

Mei snickered, "There have been some of those too…"

This caused a few individuals to blush deeply before Anko busted into laughter, "Oh, I knew that I was going to end up liking you."

The red head winked at the snake mistress, "You have good taste then."

"I can't come with you?!" Fu demanded shocked immediately rekindling the serious atmosphere of the conversation.

"What do we do about…them?" Tayuya asked nonchalantly as she pointed at Konan and Shizune.

Naruto raised his hand to silence everybody, "Guren, Tayuya, Kimimaro, Sasuke, and Anko will all come with me and Deidara to Orochimaru's last known location in Kusa. The rest of you will stay here and I am putting Zabuza in charge. Also, those of you that remain will each have somebody they are responsible for watching. I want Fu to watch Konan; I want Mei to watch Yugito; and Haku watch Shizune. You are all responsible for each other…and my village. Is everybody clear?"

A unison of nods and followed his orders. Konan looked as if she wanted to say something but bitterly looked away and huffed in annoyance.

Shizune appeared displeased about it, but not as much as Konan. Yugito on the other hand seemed worried, "Are you sure it's safe for us to be here without you? I mean what if Akatsuki shows up?"

Everybody seemed a bit surprised by Yugito's tone. Tayuya sent her a disbelieving glance as she crossed her arms, "I thought you would jump for joy at the chance of escaping…"

"I wouldn't do that! Especially if Akatsuki is after jinchuuriki…" Yugito noted. Her face was scarlet with embarrassment. Mei giggled at her expression, "Ah, look she's blushing."

The blonde hot head instantly sent a scowl towards Mei, "I-It's n-nothing like that! I am simply concerned for my safety."

"Yes, the princess would feel very unsafe without her…protector," Anko laughed.

Fu seemed a bit put off by not being able to go, but she quickly reverted back to her normal personality and decided to tease Yugito, "She's going to miss you, Lord Pein. Maybe you should give her a goodbye kiss."

Yugito blushed a crimson red and covered her face with embarrassment, "Don't say such shameful and indecent things! That's gross! Stop insinuating such a ridiculous idea. It's not like I like him or anything!"

"That little lynx has already been domesticated," Anko whispered under her breath. Only a few people heard it, one of which was Zabuza who laughed at the thought.

Konan appeared disgusted by this banter and cracked her fist as she sent a death glare towards Yugito. _'Don't even think about it, you jinchuuriki hustler…there's too many god damned whores around here as it is._' the azure beauty thought bitterly.

Naruto quickly decided to change the subject and get back on track, "Yes, Yugito, I have already considered your safety. It is the reason why I am leaving Zabuza and Haku here. They can contact me via their Rinnegan links should any complications arise. Plus, you have more than enough back up here, and if something happens, I should only be a day or two's flight away."

The blonde woman seemed much more relaxed hearing this news from Naruto and soon returned to a relaxed demeanor. Konan was still glaring at Yugito which quickly caught the other woman's attention.

Yugito raised a brow at Konan and wondered why she was sending a death glare.

'_What's her deal? Why is Konan glaring at me?' _Yugito thought worriedly.

Much to her relief, Naruto stepped in front of Konan and quickly caught the woman's attention. She looked up at him coldly, clearly still upset about discovering the news of his harem.

"Konan, I am going to give you this warning only once…back off from them," Naruto warned Konan just loud enough for him and his followers to hear. The rest of the villagers and ninjas of Oto curiously watched unsure of what their leaders were talking about.

She sighed and nodded her head, "Of course, Pein…"

The blonde turned his head towards the timid brunette medic nin, "Be a good girl, Onee-chan."

Shizune practically squealed with delight at his comment, "Anything for you _master_."

"I knew you were fucked up…but that is seriously wrong," Yugito cut in.

Tayuya face palmed at this exchange, "That didn't just happen…I am going to pretend I did not hear that."

"You're sure one to talk. Didn't you want him to-" Zabuza began but was immediately silenced by Tayuya covering his mouth.

"Don't listen to this idiot! He's full of shit!" Tayuya shouted. The red head turned towards Zabuza and whispered menacingly, "How did you know about that?"

He sent her an amused grin, "That room is a hot spot…easy pickings for source material in my book. Yours was quite delectable. Would you like me to read it to everybody?"

"Oh fuck that! You say one fucking word and I'll burn that fucking book and your stupid face! Then I'm going to shove this flute all the way up your ass!" Tayuya ranted.

Anko laughed, "Make sure you go into explicit detail about my parts. It's important that your readers know who the number one is."

Zabuza laughed hysterically as he pulled out his book, "I will swim in rivers of gold!"

"You're disgusting for writing so much crap in that book, Zabuza…" Haku noted.

He smiled at the brunette, "Oh, but you all have such wonderful little tales within it hahahahahaha!"

Quickly seeing where this conversation was heading, Naruto coughed to catch everyone's attention again, "Deidara, get your clay bird ready. We're getting ready to go soon."

"Of course, boss. By the way, would you mind if we blow up a few towns along the way? I mean, I just need to express myself right now!" Deidara suggested enthusiastically.

Naruto shrugged, "You'll get your chance soon enough."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Madara calmly trekked through the misty swamps of Water Country in search of the six tail's jinchuuriki. His mind was focused and attentive as he scanned the surrounding area for Utakata's small wooden hut.

To his right was a blonde girl who seemed to be a little more than shaken up. Ino marched almost mechanically next to him with a dead-fixed stoic face. The Uchiha glanced over at her and chuckled, "Say girl, what was your name again?"

She answered cold and emotionlessly, "Ino Yamanaka, daughter of Inoichi Yamanaka, heir to the clan."

"Ah, I see…so tell me girl, were you with the little group of 'heroes' that tried to sack Ame?" Madara was enjoying her defeated attitude. He had tortured her for quite a while with his Sharingan earlier.

"Yes…" was all she said trying to ignore him. Ino's stoic face started to show signs of uneasiness and fear as Madara placed a hand on her shoulder, "I see…and did you happen to encounter Pein?"

She nodded, "Briefly…he fought Konan and we retreated. Please, just let me go or kill me…I don't want to do this!"

The Uchiha sighed at her outburst, "Now now…you're not going to yell again are you? I might have to discipline you again. Hmph, you little Konoha brats are so spoiled and pathetic."

Ino bit her lip and looked down angrily, "Why do I have to work for you? I don't want to hunt a jinchuuriki!"

"Hmm, why not? Weren't you all so eager to find Naruto for all these years? He is a jinchuuriki too." Madara grinned maliciously. His serene face almost seemed to radiate an unnatural pale glow.

Ino looked shocked by the mention of Naruto's name, "Naruto!? How do you know him? Have you seen him?!"

"Oh, I've seen him…lots of people have. I mean where could the container of the legendary nine tails possibly hide anyways?" Madara mocked hoping that she would figure it out.

To no avail Ino shrugged, "How should I know?! Please, tell me where Naruto is! The whole village has been looking for him for years! Pein said that he was dead!"

"Pein was wrong. You haven't been looking in the right place. Think girl…where would the most powerful jinchuuriki hide? Why would Pein protect Naruto?" Madara asked rhetorically not expecting her to understand.

Ino thought for a moment, "I don't know, but if Naruto is alive and as powerful as you say then he could have…come back by now couldn't he?"

Her eyes shot open as her jaw dropped. Madara began to laugh maniacally, "Yes, now you get it…he didn't want to go back to Konoha. He hates it…in fact he probably hates you too."

Flashbacks of the scene Ino witnessed in Madara's mind began to replay in her head, except this time she witnessed an earlier memory of Madara and Pein speaking to each other. She looked closely at the whisker marks on Pein's face and couldn't believe it.

She was immediately drawn from her thoughts when Madara shouted, "Yes, Naruto is Pein!"

Ino shook her head in disbelief, "That's just impossible…how could that knucklehead be a ruthless warlord? How could he have the Rinnegan? Is-Is Pein…I mean Naruto the Sage of Six Paths?!"

Madara backhanded her for that comment, "NO! Don't ever say such a thing again! I AM THE NEXT SAGE OF SIX PATHS, NOT HIM!"

The blonde trembled as she raised a hand to her face. She was already beginning to bleed and swell from the blunt force of his assault. Ino channeled healing chakra over her face and began to cry, "I never did anything nice for him…he probably does hate me!"

The Uchiha looked a bit confused by her statement, "Oh good grief, girl pull yourself together…you're acting like my worthless good for nothing daughter."

Ino slowly stood up and shook her head repeatedly, "This just can't be true…It can't be! Why would somebody like Naruto be evil?!"

"Naruto is no different than I am…I suppose I can't blame him for being so defiant. He is unusually charismatic as well…minions seem to flock to him," Madara noted.

"Akatsuki is evil…why are all of you trying to ruin everybody's lives and stir the whole country into a war? Why would Naruto be involved in something like that?!" Ino demanded.

The pale man gave her a quizzical look, "It doesn't really matter what kind of person Naruto is, because I will kill him soon enough; and then his Rinnegan and Kyuubi will both be mine."

"So why are you telling me all of this? Who are you exactly anyways?" Ino questioned timidly.

Madara gave her an annoyed glance, "Madara Uchiha…and I have my reasons for keeping you well informed. You will prove most useful later on."

"Madara?! As in the founder of the Uchiha Clan?! But that's impossible! He would be really old in today's time. You don't look old at all! Who are you really!?" She demanded.

He smiled, "When you reach my level of power…age ceases to have meaning. Though, all descendants of the Rikudou Sennin were particularly long lived anyways."

"How do you know so much about Naruto?! How did he have Orochimaru's minions following him?! What is the Rinnegan capable of?" Ino continued to ask questions.

Madara held a hand up and stop in his tracks, "I see you're awfully curious about Naruto? Maybe I should tell you about all the people he's killed…possibly raped. Maybe you'd like to know about how he decided to join forces with Konan? Didn't she murder quite a few of your friends? Hahaha, or perhaps I should tell you about his plans to destroy the five great Shinobi nations? Does it truly matter, bitch? He cares nothing for you or for Konoha."

"That battle in the Valley of the End," the girl began nervously, "he was fighting you guys…so that must mean there's some good in him. Why does he hate Konoha so much though? I mean sure, people teased him and the elders didn't like him, but Naruto just isn't the kind of person to do all of those things."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, you're so pathetically naïve it's funny. By the way, do you want to know the real reason why I am letting you live for now? " Madara chuckled.

"To torture, rape, and kill me later no doubt…" Ino said worriedly.

He raised a brow, "Such an unimaginative little bitch…no, if I wanted to do that, I would have already. I am interested in your mind transfer. You could make my job a lot easier by using it on jinchuuriki for me. Not that I couldn't defeat them myself, but you see I'm on a schedule. Perhaps if you're a good little slave, I'll introduce you to Naruto and you can ask him all those questions yourself before I kill him."

"So that's what you meant by 'help' then?" Ino trailed off.

"Of course, like I mentioned, I do have other plans…but we'll speak of those later."

Ino held her head dejectedly, _'How can this even be possible?! If Pein is really Naruto then maybe…maybe he can help us. Maybe he can help me…oh Sakura, you stupid bitch! Why did you have to make him run away?! How did he become Pein I wonder…'_

After another half an hour of awkward silence and searching, the duo finally came upon a small wooden hut that appeared to be inhabited. Madara looked over it once and nodded, "Ah, this is definitely it. Alright, slave, when we go in there, you are going to wait for me to distract him and then use your mind transfer. If you screw this up, I'll tear out your throat. Understood?"

Ino reluctantly nodded, _'Oh gods, I don't want to do this…why is he making me help him?!' _

The Uchiha smiled, "Good girl." Without another word they walked over towards the entrance of the hut and didn't even make it to the door before a series of traps went off. Madara didn't even move as he made himself and Ino intangible.

After all of the traps subsided, Madara was met with a frantic Utakata standing at the entrance to his hut with a surprised expression.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here? I had nothing to do with the Mizukage's disappearance!" the man shouted.

Ino was surprised by the news_, 'The Mizukage went missing too? Then that means there is only three actual Kages right now! Damn, we're in bigger trouble than I thought. I guess I've got no choice but to tag along with this guy for now…I just hope he doesn't kill me.'_

"Hi, Utakata, you probably don't remember me, but I used to stalk you and draw wonderful portraits of your gloomy face every day," Madara began.

The jinchuuriki and Ino both gave him a bewildered look. "What are you talking about?! Don't fuck with me! Why are you here?!" Utakata demanded in a much more serious tone.

"I've never seen you get angry before…is it because your little girlfriend went missing? I wonder what happened to…what was her stupid name again?" Madara asked mockingly.

"What have you done with Hotaru?!" Utakata demanded angrily.

"I don't remember where I left the body…you know how these dumb girls are eh? I seem to forget their faces and names so easily," Madara taunted sadistically.

Utakata immediately took notice of Ino and sent an angered look towards Madara, "What kind of sick freak are you, abducting girls?! What did you do with Hotaru?!"

"Freak? Yes that's what they used to call YOU isn't it? Ah yes, Slug Freak was your nickname right?" Madara continued. Ino could tell he was clearly enjoying the jinchuuriki's anger.

"I will kill you!" Utakata said full of bloodlust. Madara sent him an unconcerned smile, "Just like you killed your master too right? Oh, you really are a worthless little freak aren't you?"

Utakata immediately began to sear in fury as his chakra cloak formed around him. Madara elbowed Ino signaling her to do a mind transfer. Right as his cloak fully formed, Madara launched a web of chakra chain to hold down the rabid jinchuuriki in place.

Utakata flailed as more chakra began to pour out of his body. As he expected, Ino launched a mind transfer on Utakata. Her body dropped motionless as she invaded Utakata's mind. While this was happening, Madara went through a long series of hand seals.

Inside of the jinchuuriki's mindscape, Ino was being tortured by visions of Utakata's childhood, the village's hatred, and of the many people he killed. Before long she managed to gain control of his motor functions and current vision.

Ino noticed just in time as Madara began to suck out the jinchuuriki's chakra. It began to flow into the Uchiha via a seal on his now exposed stomach.

"_Why are you helping him do this? I thought you were a hostage?!" _a voice sounded within her mind. **"GET OUT OF OUR BODY!" **Another voice followed and before long Ino found herself reawakening in her own body.

She got up just in time to see Madara glowing intensely from the surging influx of chakra. _'Did he really need my help to do this?! It doesn't even look like that guy can break those chain…'_ Ino noted. However, much to her surprise, Utakata unleashed a colossal surge of power and ripped out of the chains charging Madara.

He was unsuccessful in hitting the Uchiha as Madara went intangible. However, the chakra drain seemed to have been cut off from the chains now severed.

Madara sighed annoyed as he glanced at Ino, "Stupid girl…you can't hold onto it for one minute?"

Much to Madara's complete dread, Utakata began to transform fully into the six tails. Before long, a hulking, massive slug was towering above them. It radiated chakra as its six tails flailed wildly.

The seal on Madara's stomach blinked a few times and disappeared causing him to scowl in anger_. 'Damn it! I guess I'll have to do this myself!'_

Wasting no time, Madara rained down chakra chains in all directions keeping the six tails from moving. It yelled furiously**, "How dare you try to capture me!" **

"You're mine you stupid bijou!" Madara shot back as he launched black flames at the slug causing it to writhe in pain.

Ino stood there unsure of what to do in this situation. The girl hoped that Utakata would be successful, but she already knew that the jinchuuriki stood no chance against Madara. She also knew that if she failed, Madara would kill her. Trying to weigh her options logically she came to one conclusion, _'I have to help him if I want to live…'_

Seeing as how she had no choice, Ino stood up again and launched another mind transfer at the transformed Utakata. This appeared to be in the knick of time since he had a fully charged tailed beast ball aimed at Madara.

She was rather surprised that she was able to take over the jinchuuriki momentarily and diverted its head away causing it to miss Madara. The Uchiha began to laugh as he sent a proud smile, "Oh I knew you wouldn't disappoint me."

Ino heard Utakata's voice again, _"Why are you helping him?!"_

The blonde responded in her mindscape, _"You don't stand a chance against him…sorry, but I'm dying for some guy I don't know."_

"**Cowardly bitch!" **the six tails shouted.

The blonde simply held control of the body as Madara wrapped more and more chakra chains all over it and blanketed more of Amaterasu's flames. Ino could feel the searing agony of the beast was feeling and immediately left back to her own body.

This time, she watched with fear as Madara was glowing intensely again. All of his chakra chains began to link into another thick net like pattern and followed their way to the reappeared seal on his stomach. A vortex like portal appeared over the seal and began to suck the beast in.

Utakata and Rokubi simply watched in horror as they were both completely sucked inside of the seal. Afterwards, Ino watched worriedly as Madara turned around and began to glow with the six tails chakra.

He gave Ino an approving nod, "HAHAHAHAHA! YES! Oh, I am so glad I decided to keep you. Welcome to Akatsuki, girl! You will prove most useful later on!"

Ino did not know what to say. She felt incredible fear and guilt at the actions she had just committed. This was clearly evident to Madara who sent her a wicked smile, "There's no turning back now…the only way to stay alive is to serve me. Keep doing well and maybe you'll be rewarded with more power."

"I didn't want to do this…" Ino barely muttered.

The Uchiha shrugged, "Such a shame…your clan wastes their powers on simple mind transfers, but under my guidance, you could learn so much more. Does that interest you?"

"No," was all Ino responded. As his chakra began to recede, the ethereal man grabbed her chin and stared into her eyes, "Wrong answer!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

Standing over the broken and shattered body of Sasori, Itachi glanced around at the scene of the battle. He knew that he was going to have a hard time explaining to the others why two jinchuuriki were now missing and Sasori was dead.

'_So Sasori finally met his end…' _was all the Uchiha thought as he casually walked over the remnants of the battlefield. A quick thought crossed his mind as he picked up a random sword and stabbed himself in several locations.

Blood poured from his back down his body and he grimaced, _'I doubt this will fool Madara, but Kisame and Kakuzu will likely buy it. Hopefully I'll be long gone by then.'_

The Uchiha had already made up his mind, that the time to strike against Madara was now. He was glad that their attack on Kumo managed to rile up the Raikage. All of the opposing forces of Madara were going to gather up eventually, and then Madara could be cornered.

He contemplated possible routes of action that he would have to take thereon. Itachi had never been very loyal to Madara, but he saw no reason to side with Naruto either. The two were both ruthless despots that wanted the same thing. _'Now that everything is laid out…I should go find Sasuke.'_

Before long, Itachi heard the sound of a crashing wave. He turned his head and spotted a victorious Kisame with both jinchuuriki slung over his shoulders. Kakuzu was trailing behind him. The shark nin was fully transformed and appeared to be pissed off.

Upon reaching Itachi the water dissipated and Kisame started reverting back to normal. He quickly looked around and went wide eyed at the sight of the battlefield.

"Itachi?! What happened? Where is Sasori and the one tails?" he immediately noticed the Uchiha did not have Killer Bee either, "what did you do with the eight tails?!"

"He woke up and managed to get away. I followed him over here, but it seems that the one and eight tails killed Sasori and escaped together," Itachi lied casually.

Kakuzu shook his head in disbelief, "You let them escape?! Why aren't you chasing them right now!?"

"The eight tails caught me off guard when I was carrying him and stabbed me," Itachi pointed at blade marks on his body.

"Those look fresh…maybe there's still time to catch them," Kakuzu noted.

Itachi shook his head, "We should not risk it. I say we cut our losses and make sure we don't lose these two."

"Who the hell are you and what have you done with Itachi?! Has the blood loss caused your head to go funny?! How the hell are we going to explain this?!" Kisame ranted.

The Uchiha sighed, "Madara is more than powerful enough as is. I'm sure he'll be well equipped to get them back with no trouble at all."

"Damn it Itachi, why did you have to go and lose the one we captured?! Madara is going to kill us for this! Better yet, he's going to rape you, kill me, eat me, rape you again, and then kill you!" Kisame carried on furiously.

"Speaking of which…if he went to retrieve the one tails with Sasori then where is Madara now?" Kisame asked.

Kakuzu sighed, "He went to get the six tails…"

"Well that's just fucking great…we lost the one he captured. Everybody just kill yourselves now," Kisame announced dreadfully.

Itachi simply shook his head, "It's not really a big deal anyways…none of you even know why he wants the jinchuuriki anyways."

Much to all of their surprise, they heard a vaguely familiar creepy voice sound off, "Itachi-kun, it isn't like you to make mistakes. Perhaps you're losing your edge…I imagine the Mangekyo Sharingan must be taking its toll by now."

Everybody dreadfully turned their gaze and spotted Zetsu in his original form and Orochimaru. Kisame immediately face palmed, "Oh gods, I can't handle this guy right now…"

"What are you doing here?!" Kakuzu sounded displeased.

Orochimaru sent a cunning smile towards Itachi and winked. The Uchiha had an uneasy feeling that Orochimaru was planning something sinister.

"Oh, nothing really; Zetsu here informs me that Madara wanted me back. I humbly accepted my readmission into Akatsuki," the snake man said creepily.

Itachi gave him a blank stare, _'This can't be good…'_

"By the way Itachi-kun, your brother is getting quite strong. You would be so proud…" the sannin trailed off.

The Uchiha leered at him, "When did you see my brother?"

"Oh? He works for Pein now…as do all of my former followers for that matter. I will enjoy punishing that obnoxious Naruto brat for taking everything away from me!" Orochimaru announced menacingly.

Itachi seemed surprised, "Sasuke joined Naruto? Why? How long ago was this?"

"Just recently in fact. Also…Guren, my former second, has also acquired the Rinnegan," the sannin explained.

Kisame's eyes shot open and Itachi's jaw dropped, "What do you mean?" the Uchiha asked almost disbelievingly.

"Disregard that for now. We have another pressing concern. Orochimaru and I spotted Shizune and Konan flying over Kusa, towards Oto. Judging by the events here, I would assume that they betrayed you all and set the jinchuuriki free," Zetsu interrupted.

"That damn bitch, Shizune let Konan go?! What the fuck?!" Kakuzu roared.

Itachi glanced over at Zetsu and saw the plant man eyeing him suspiciously.

"Where have you been this whole time, Zetsu?" Itachi asked cautiously.

Dark Zetsu answered him, "I took a detour to locate somebody for the master."

"Who?!" Kakuzu asked impatiently.

"None of your concern at the moment," Zetsu countered bluntly.

Orochimaru hissed annoyed, "So I hear that the Kyuubi brat took you all on at the Valley of the End by himself. Is he truly that powerful?"

Kisame looked pissed at the question, "He held us off, but he ended up running away. Plus, Madara-sama never once entered the battle. If he had, then he would have already been dead."

"Madara will regret doing that…the Kyuubi brat has an army behind him now. How do you intend to counter that?" Orchimaru queried.

Itachi looked downcast, "What did you mean one of your followers had the Rinnegan? Are you implying there is more than one wielder?"

"He has described it in great detail to me. I would assume that it has something to do with Naruto's power. Though, we have very little to fear. The master has been holding back this entire time…once Madara-sama acquires several more jinchuuriki, he'll more than likely tip the balance back in our favor," Zetsu noted.

"How can you be so sure about that…" Kakuzu wondered aloud.

Orochimaru nodded his head, "The Kyuubi brat doesn't have full control of Kyuubi anyways. No wielder of Kyuubi has ever been able to wield all of the bijou's chakra like other jinchuuriki do."

"That's true I suppose. Though we haven't seen Naruto in a while. There's no telling what is going on at this point," Kakuzu noted.

Orochimaru stared at Itachi curiously for a moment, _'He seems on edge…very unlike him. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage.'_

"What should we do now?" Kakuzu asked breaking the awkward silence.

Much to everybody's surprise, a distorted portal appeared in front of them and out of it came none other than Madara and Ino. Everybody seemed rather surprised by this entry, and Itachi immediately felt the dread that was sure to follow.

"How did he know exactly where we were?" Kisame asked shocked.

Zetsu simply let out a small smile at this question.

Madara saw Kisame holding two of the jinchuuriki and let out a wicked grin, "Ah, you already have two of them on you good. Where is Sasori with the one tails?"

"It got away…so did the eight tails," Itachi stated callously.

Madara sighed and immediately focused a death glare on his underling, "Did they now? Oh, and you look wounded, Itachi…you poor thing."

Madara decided to ignore Itachi for the moment as he focused his attention on Zetsu and Orochimaru, "Did you locate them?"

Zetsu nodded, "Yes, they will arrive soon."

"Good to see you again after all these years, Madara," Orochimaru began sinisterly.

The Uchiha sent him one glance and huffed, "Spare me the pleasantries…you're only here because I need pawns to deal with Naruto's minions. Do as I say and I'll entertain the thought of keeping you alive."

"Of course…master," the snake hissed the last part almost sourly.

"Where is Shizune? Did you leave her to watch over Konan?" Madara asked curiously.

Kakuzu looked down shamefully, "It seems Shizune betrayed us…she released Konan and all of the jinchuuriki before taking off. We recaptured the four and five tails, but as Itachi said, the one and eight tails escaped."

"ARGHH! YOU USELESS PIECES OF SHIT! I can't leave you fools alone for two and a half days?! Explain to me where you and Itachi were during all of this shit!" Madara roared furiously as he glared at Kisame.

Ino nervously trembled and looked at the ground not trying to make sense of the situation. Just then an interesting thought crossed Madara's mind, "Girl…do a mind transfer on Itachi."

The younger Uchiha looked worried at the mention of this though he kept a straight face. Ino nervously looked at Madara, "W-w-what?! H-he's Itachi Uchiha…"

"No…" Itachi started as he slowly sidestepped.

"What do you mean no?!" Madara demanded.

"I'm not going to help you anymore. I let them go…I wasn't expecting you back so soon, but I suppose that I would prefer to tell you to your face anyways. I quit Akatsuki," Itachi stated coldly.

Madara simply laughed, "You quit? That's pretty funny…where do you intend to go? To Naruto? I doubt he'll be welcoming to a man who battled him three separate occasions. Where did all this petty defiance come from? Do you think you are being noble?"

"I have no desire to join Naruto either. You're both the same person…power-obsessed megalomaniacs with no true desire for peace. Naruto is a good person at heart, but he is just as selfish as you are and he corrupts everybody he comes into contact with…just like you. You could never understand my true goals," Itachi explained.

Madara clenched his fists as he activated his Tsukiyomi, "I'm going to enjoy torturing you, Itachi!"

Much to his surprise, Itachi cancelled it out with his own Sharingan. The younger Uchiha's eyes began to bleed profusely. He wasted no time and took off at unseen speeds running away from the group.

Everybody stood still unsure of what to do. Madara simply gave an unconcerned glance in the direction Itachi had left, "It doesn't matter where he goes…he's got no allies. He's also wounded. Itachi cannot hide from me no matter where he goes."

"Say, master…would you be opposed to me claiming Itachi's body?" Orchimaru suggested gleefully.

The Uchiha chuckled, "Why not…go get him for me."

Orochimaru wasted no time taking off in Itachi's direction following the trail of blood.

Kisame looked very upset about the current situation and hung his head dejectedly, _'He DID betray us…' _

Zetsu took a closer step towards Madara and began to whisper, "Everything is going according to plan other than this mess. The others should be here within a few days."

"Good, send them to me when they arrive. Now that that's settled, I might as well seal these jinchuuriki before any more 'accidents' occur.

"Seal them?" Kakuzu asked curiously. It was only then that he and Kisame understood the purpose behind capturing jinchuuriki.

"Is that why you wanted to capture them? To seal multiple bijou within yourself? Wouldn't that kill you though?" Kisame spoke up confused.

Madara shook his head, "I am immortal…something miniscule like that could not kill me."

"If that was your intention all along, then why didn't you just do it in the first place?" Kakuzu asked skeptically.

"I wanted to get the most powerful ones first before they knew what to do…but I see now that it was probably a mistake. Naruto has been ruining all of my plans…and now Konan, Shizune, and Itachi have as well. But alas, some pawns must simply be cast aside for the betterment of their leader. These little distractions mean nothing in the long run. In the end I WILL get what I want," Madara said.

Without another word Madara launched a net of chakra chains over both jinchuuriki and bound them tightly. "Soon I will be the master of all bijou…then not even Naruto will be able to stop me."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X**

Gaara had made considerable progress on his way back towards Konoha with Killer Bee slung over his shoulder. The red head wasn't really used to hauling people around and do to his recent injuries with Sasori, he was not enjoying the trek. Much to his relief, the unconscious Killer Bee began to stir causing him to stop in his tracks.

The Kazekage looked up and noticed Killer Bee jump off of him and land on the ground. The jinchuuriki looked around disoriented. Gaara couldn't tell exactly where though because the man still had his sunglasses on miraculously.

"Yo, where the hell am I?" Bee asked as he rubbed his throbbing temples.

"Who are you exactly?" Gaara asked curiously.

The man instantly jerked his head up and examined Gaara head to toe, "You from Suna? You're not one of them are you?"

"Akatsuki you mean? No…they were capturing jinchuuriki. You and I managed to escape thanks to the others," Gaara explained.

"Ah shit…A's probably lost his shit by now. Where are we headed and who the hell are you exactly?" Killer Bee replied.

"I am Gaara, the Kazekage…" the red head stated emotionlessly.

Killer Bee instantly let out a light chuckle, "Oh…oops my bad. Then I guess you're on my level. I'm Killer Bee, Lord Jinchuuriki,"

Gaara sighed, "We're heading towards Konoha…they'll know what to do about Akatuski hopefully.

"Maybe A's already there…oh by the way I owe you for getting me out of there, Kazekage," Bee held up his fist to the straight faced Gaara who simply looked at him bewildered.

"C'mon don't leave me hanging, man," Bee laughed.

Gaara slowly raised his fist and awkwardly knuckle bumped with the other jinchuuriki.

He decided it was best to keep the whole deal with Itachi quiet until he got to Tsunade. _'If they're after us…then maybe Naruto is in trouble too. I wonder where he is.'_

"Hey, by the way…did you happen to see a blonde girl back there when you were getting away? She's moderately tall, and is the two tail's jinchuuriki," Killer Bee asked anxiously.

Gaara shook his head, "We didn't see anybody like that. From what I could gather from the girl that released us, she said that Pein had the rest of the jinchuuriki."

"Pein? That crazy mother fucker still hasn't been caught? Why does he want jinchuuriki? Is he with Akatsuki?" Bee asked.

Gaara shrugged, "I have no idea…hopefully somebody in Konoha knows what's going on."

"I hope Yugito's okay…A's going to go insane if anything happens to her," Bee noted.

Without another word, the two continued onward towards Konoha.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX**

Naruto calmly examined the horizon as he and his companions flew on the back of Deidara's clay bird. The blonde couldn't help but feel proud that they had such a convenient form of transportation now thanks to Deidara.

"Hey, Naruto, can you please tell us what we're doing looking for your father's body? Do you intend to resurrect him?" Anko asked shocked.

The jinchuuriki glanced over his curious minions' faces and shook his head, "He has the other half of Kyuubi's power sealed within him. I intend to get it back. When we get there, you guys are going to walk me through exactly where you battled him and we'll go from there."

"So about this whole, no harem thing...that was just for show right? You don't really want to leave me alone and cold at night do you?" Anko asked.

Guren sent her a disgusted glare, "Oh get off his dick will you. Naruto made it clear that he wants to focus on his priorities right now. Show some self-respect and stop being a slut."

While they were arguing, Tayuya took this time to place herself in Naruto's lap. She leaned her head back and met his confused gaze. Her face lit up with embarrassment as she inched closer towards his. She whispered almost inaudibly with her lips, "I won't tell."

Guren quickly noticed this and nearly threw Tayuya off the bird, "You're awfully bold for a recently deflowered woman..."

"I wasn't a damn virgin you bitch!" Tayuya shouted. This immediately caught everybody's attention and caused Naruto to look away embarrassed,_ 'People are going to lose all respect for me at this rate.'_

He moved further up the bird towards Deidara and Sasuke and scanned the ground below. "Looks like we just crossed into the border. Fly low so we can get a better look Deidara."

Sasuke thought for a moment, "Say, Naruto how do you determine who you bring back to life? I mean can you do it to anyone?"

"I don't know...I feel like I should be able to, but I don't have my full power yet. Why?" the blonde had a feeling he knew what Sasuke was going to ask.

The Uchiha sighed, "Maybe, you could bring back the Uchiha clan one day and the Uzumaki Clan too if you wanted..."

Naruto frowned, "Even if I could...what would be the point? Nothing else matters until I destroy Madara."

"Have you ever thought about what you wanted to do once this is all over?" Kimimaro cut into the conversation interested.

The jinchuuriki simply stared into the distance, "It will never end. I am the next Sage of Six Paths."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X**

OKAY! There's chapter 19 folks. I hope it was good, but who am I kidding right? Anyways, for those that enjoyed it, let's go over some our key highlights in this chapter:

Obviously, Naruto gaining the golden chakra cloak was exciting. I know some of you had previously wondered about that. I wanted to save it for something cool. I mean he's got his blonde hair back…I hope that was interesting at least.

Going to get Yondaime! Oh, I can already see the influx of reviews asking me about that. Is he going to be a path?! Maybe, but maybe not?! The important thing is he is getting Kyuubi's full power. AH YEAH! I told you guys the action power up super shit was on its way…just a few more chapters and we'll be at Konoha!? We'll see won't we?

How about Madara and Ino too? What exactly does he have planned for her in the long run?

How about Itachi's getaway? Orochimaru is chasing him?! Also who are these people Zetsu keeps talking about?!

Sorry I'm so amped…it's the only way I can make myself write this. So I dedicate this week's chapter to that Yorkshire Tea (God save the queen) and to all my beloved reviewers who keep me dedicated. By the way, I'm sorry for taking a month on this chapter. I blame all the violence on television and video games lol. I'll update again as soon as I can. Thanks again for reading!


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